George  Palmer  Putnam 

A  Memoir 


Together  with  a  Record  of  the  Earlier  Years  of  the 
Publishing  House  Founded  by  Him 


By 


George  Haven  Putnam,  Litt.D. 

Author  of  "  Books  and  Their  Makers,"  "  The  Censorship  of  the  Church, 
"Abraham  Lincoln,"  etc. 


*£ 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New    York  and  London 

Zbe  fmicfeerbocker  iprees 

1912 


Copyright,  1912 

BY 

GEORGE  HAVEN  PUTNAM 


TTfcc  -Knickerbocker  press,  -Hew  Jt?orfc 


Preface 

IN  1903,  I  brought  into  print  a  Memoir  of  my  Father, 
which  had  been  prepared  to  preserve,  for  the  informa- 
tion of  his  children  and  grandchildren,  a  record  of 
the  chief  incidents  in  his  busy  life,  together  with  an  esti- 
mate, based  upon  personal  associations  and  memories,  of 
the  character  of  the  man.  The  book  was  printed  for 
private  circulation  in  the  family  circle,  and  included 
details  of  family  history  that  it  was  desirable  to  preserve 
but  with  which  the  public  had  naturally  no  concern. 

The  present  volume  presents  those  portions  of  the 
earlier  narrative  having  to  do  with  matter  that  should,  it 
is  believed,  possess  interest  for  the  general  public,  a  public 
that  now  represents  a  later  generation  and  which  can 
include  but  few  who  ever  had  personal  relations  with  the 
subject  of  the  Memoir. 

The  sons  of  G.  P.  Putnam  had  thought  that  the  record 
of  his  business  career  ought  to  be  preserved  as  a  contri- 
bution to  the  history  of  American  publishing  and  of  inter- 
national literary  relations.  They  are  particularly  interested 
in  emphasising  the  services  rendered  by  him  in  furthering 
the  establishment  of  international  copyright  between  the 
United  States  and  Europe.  Mr.  Putnam's  work  on  behalf 
of  international  copyright  was  begun  as  early  as  1837,  in 
which  year  was  organised  the  first  of  the  long  series  of 
copyright  committees.  From  that  date  until  the  year  of 
his  death,  in  1872,  Mr.  Putnam  was  the  Secretary,  and  as 


256373 


iv  Preface 

a  rule  the  working  man  in  the  executive  committee  of  each 
successive  copyright  league  or  association. 

It  had  seemed  also  that,  apart  from  this  record  of  a 
business  career  and  of  public  work,  there  might  be  service 
in  making  available  for  the  community  fuller  knowledge 
of  a  man  whose  life  gave  evidence  of  high  ideals,  of 
sturdiness  of  character,  and  of  a  singularly  fine  and  sweet 
nature.  Such  personal  details  as  have  been  retained  in 
the  present  narrative  have,  therefore,  been  selected  with 
reference  to  their  value  in  throwing  light  upon  motives  of 
action  and  upon  development  of  character. 

For  the  same  purpose,  it  has  been  thought  desirable  to 
include  in  the  volume  several  papers  presenting  my 
Father's  own  reminiscences,  together  with  an  article  con- 
tributed by  him  to  the  Knickerbocker  in  October,  1861, 
in  which  he  gives  an  account  of  his  experiences  at 
the  first  Battle  of  Bull  Run. 


G.  H.  P. 


New  York, 
May,  IQI2. 


Contents 


CHAPTER 

I — Ancestry  and  Early  Years 

II — Removal  to  New  York — Begins  Work  as  a 
Bookseller    . 

Ill — Wiley  &  Putnam,  1840 

IV — Life  in  London 

V — Migration  to  New  York 

VI — Beginnings  of  the  Publishing  Business  in 
New  York 

VII — Publishing  Undertakings 

VIII — International  Copyright 

IX — "Putnam's  Monthly" 

X — Publications  of  1851-56   . 

XI — The  Disasters  of  1857 

XII — Death  of  Irving 

XIII — On  the  Eve  of  the  Civil  War 

XIV— Bull  Run 


XV — The  Early  Years  of  the  War. 
Riots     .... 


The  Draft 


PAGE 

I 


15 

27 

43 
107 

124 

153 
160 
171 
192 

235 

252 

273 
305 

334 


vi  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVI — Collector  of  Internal  Revenue      .         .     346 

XVII— G.  P.  Putnam  &  Sons        .         .         .         .356 

XVIII — Some    Things    in    London    and    Paris  — 

1836-1869 366 

XIX — Leaves  from  a  Publisher's   Letter-Book    390 

XX — A  Venture  with  Japan     .         .         .         .414 

XXI — Family  Record — The   Metropolitan  Art 

Museum  ......     426 


XXII — Some  Later  Undertakings 
XXIII— The  Last  Days 
XXIV — Final  Characterisations 
XXV — An  Appreciation 

Index        .... 


432 
440 

453 
462 

473 


George  Palmer  Putnam 

A  Memoir 


George  Palmer  Putnam 


CHAPTER  I 
Ancestry  and  Early  Years 

GEORGE  PALMER  PUTNAM  was  born  in  Bruns- 
wick, Maine,  on  the  7th  of  February,  18 14. 
His  father  was  Henry  Putnam  of  Boston,  and 
his  mother  Catherine  Hunt  Palmer  of  Dorchester.  The 
Putnams  of  Massachusetts  came  from  the  county  of 
Buckinghamshire,  in  England,  where  the  records  show 
them  to  have  lived,  during  a  number  of  centuries,  as 
small  squires  and  substantial  yeomen.  The  name  was 
most  frequent  in  the  town  of  Penne,  which  is  about 
thirty  miles  from  London.  The  name  was  originally 
Puttenham  and  is,  I  understand,  derived  from  a  Friesland 
cognomen,  Putt,  the  suffix,  ham,  standing  for  a  village 
or  settlement.  If  this  derivation  be  correct,  some  early 
member  of  the  Putt  family  must  have  separated  himself 
from  his  rural  brothers  and  cousins  by  taking  up  his 
residence  in  the  village,  so  that  he  was  afterwards  referred 
to  as  "Putt  of  the  village,"  or  Putt-en-ham.  A  village 
called  Puttenham  lies  twelve  miles  from  Penne. 

There  appears  to  have  been  no  one  of  any  great  note 
in  this  Bucks  family  of  Puttenhams  and  Puttnams,  and 


2  Oeorge    Palmer  Putnam 

it  can  only  be  said  for  them,  in  the  absence  of  any  evi- 
dence to  the  contrary,  that  they  lived  their  lives  faith 
fully  and  did  their  duty  (according  to  the  catechism)  in 
the  sphere  of  life  to  which  they  had  been  called.  The  one 
individual  of  the  earlier  family  (that  is  of  the  family 
before  the  name  had  been  condensed  to  Puttnam)  who 
secured  any  individual  repute  was  George  Puttenham,  who 
published,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  The 
Art  of  Poesie  and  the  less  well-known  treatise  called 
Parthenaid.es.     He  died  about  1600. ' 

One  of  the  earlier  members  of  the  branch  of  the  family 
settled  in  Penne  was  a  certain  Nicholas  Puttenham,  who 
is  recorded  as  having  held  there  a  small  manor  in  or  about 
the  year  1500. 

The  Puttnams  took  part  with  the  Cromwellian  Puritans 
during  the  civil  war  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  King 
Charles,  and  after  the  accession  of  Charles  the  Second, 
certain  members  of  the  family  made  their  way  to  the 
colony  of  Plymouth  in  Massachusetts.  This  migration 
probably  took  place  in  the  year  1642,  in  the  ship  Fortune, 
sailing  from  Plymouth  to  Plymouth  of  the  West.  The 
names  of  these  founders  of  the  American  branch  of  the 
family  are  recorded  in  the  genealogy  published  by  Eben 
Putnam  of  Salem. 

Henry  Putnam,  my  father's  father,  was  born  in  Boston. 
He  was  educated  at  the  Boston  Grammar  School  and  at 
Harvard  College,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Suffolk 
Bar.  He  broke  down  in  health,  however,  and  shortly 
after  his  marriage  (September  13,  1807)  he  took  his  wife 
to  Brunswick,  Maine.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of 
that  State,  but  the  difficulties  of  his  health  appear  to  have 
interfered  with  any  sedentary  work  and  his  service  as  a 
lawyer  in  Brunswick  was  probably  not  important.     The 

1  The  authorship  of  The  Art  of  Poesie  has  also  been  ascribed  to  George's 
brother,  Richard,  but  the  weight  of  evidence  is  in  favour  of  George. 


Ancestry  and  Early  "Years  3 

main  support  of  the  family  came  from  the  exertions  of 
his  young  wife,  Catherine,  who  opened  a  school,  which 
she  continued  to  manage  for  sixteen  years. 

Catherine  Palmer  came  of  good  stock.  Her  family 
was,  like  that  of  her  husband,  of  Puritan  origin,  the 
Palmers  having  come  from  the  county  of  Essex,  where 
Cromwell  was  born,  and  which  gave  to  the  Puritan  cause 
an  almost  undivided  support. 

Joseph  Pearse  Palmer,  the  father  of  Catherine,  was  the 
son  of  Joseph  Palmer,  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  "  Committee  of  Safety"  of  Boston,  in  which  committee 
was  vested,  for  two  years  before  the  battle  of  Lexington, 
the  direction  of  the  cause  of  the  protesting  colonists  of 
Massachusetts.  It  was  from  the  house  of  Joseph  Palmer 
that,  in  1773,  a  body  of  citizens  disguised  as  Indians 
went  to  the  tea  vessels  at  Griffin's  wharf,  and,  in  throw- 
ing overboard  the  tea  upon  which  the  new  tax  was  to  be 
collected,  committed  the  first  act  of  the  Revolution. 

Joseph  Palmer  served  in  the  Continental  Army,  from 
which  he  retired  with  the  rank  of  Brigadier.  He  had  also 
enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  the  presiding  officer  of 
the  first  Colonial  Congress  or  Convention,  which  was 
called  in  1773  to  formulate  the  grievances  of  the  colonists 
against  Great  Britain. 

The  following  letter  from  a  descendant  of  Joseph 
Palmer  makes  clear  the  line  of  descent: 

Dorchester,  Mass., 
July  20,  1896. 
George  H.  Putnam. 
Dear  Sir: 

Please  excuse  the  liberty  I  've  taken  in  addressing  these 
few  lines. 

In  looking  over  the  genealogy  of  the  Palmer  family,  I  find 
that  Gen.  Joseph  Palmer's  Son,  Joseph  Pearse  Palmer,  had 
a   daughter   named    Catherine    Hunt,    who   married    Henry 


4  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

Putnam,  a  lawyer,  Sept.  13,  1807,  and  that  your  father, 
George  Palmer  Putnam,  was  one  of  five  children.  I  think 
your  father  was  named  after  my  Grandfather,  George  Palmer. 
Gen.  Palmer  came  from  England  in  the  ship  Wilmington  in 
1746.  In  the  year  1770,  he  went  to  England  for  the  benefit  of 
his  health.  While  in  London  he  had  his  portrait  taken  by  the 
celebrated  Copley,  and  sent  to  his  family  at  Braintree,  Mass. 
I  have  the  same  in  my  possession  with  the  original  frame,  etc., 
as  received  from  England. 


Respectfully  yours, 

Charles  S.  Palmer, 

Great- Great  Grandson  of 

Gen.  Joseph  Palmer. 

Catherine  Palmer  had  been  brought  up  in  the  Congre- 
gational faith,  but,  at  the  time  of  her  marriage,  she  was 
probably  not  a  member  of  the  Church.  Shortly  after  her 
settlement  in  Brunswick,  she  joined  the  Baptist  Church, 
and,  through  her  long  life,  she  always  remained  a  very 
earnest  believer  in  the  Calvinistic  creed.  She  found 
occasion,  however,  to  modify  for  herself  certain  of  the 
Baptist  tenets,  and  some  of  her  viewTs  were  characterised 
as  tending  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Swedenborgians.  She 
united  with  a  clear-headed  precision  and  a  certainty  of 
conviction  a  mystical  tendency.  She  was  a  believer  in 
types  and  symbols,  and  she  found  not  only  in  the  Script- 
ures but  in  many  other  things  a  double  meaning,  the 
first  apparent  and  direct,  the  second  hidden  and  indirect 
or  spiritual.  For  the  purpose  of  expounding  these  theories 
in  regard  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures,  she  began 
a  series  of  commentaries  on  the  Old  Testament.  The  two 
octavo  volumes,  published,  with  filial  respect,  by  her  son 
George,  in  1852  and  1853,  carried  the  analysis  of  the  Old 
Testament  no    farther  than  the  Book    of  Exodus,  and 


Ancestry  and  Harly  Years  5 

because  there  were  no  further  funds  to  spare,  or  because 
the  active  work  of  her  busy  days  promised  no  further 
time  for  elucidating  the  typical  meaning  of  the  Pentateuch, 
the  work  was  not  continued.  The  fact  that  but  few 
purchasers  were  found  for  these  rather  heavy  octavos 
did  not  trouble  her  at  all.  She  was  quite  firm  in  her 
conviction  that  the  Lord  would,  at  his  own  time  and  in 
his  own  way,  show  the  truth  to  his  people.  This  firmness 
of  conviction  and  apparently  undoubting  certainty  that 
she  had  grasped  God's  truth  and  that  God's  ways  were 
righteous  and  wise  and  just,  is  the  chief  impression  that 
remains  in  my  mind  of  my  grandmother's  faith.  I  do  not 
say  that  she  never  had  doubts,  but,  without  any  cant  and 
without  any  offensive  dogmatism,  she  always  spoke  and 
always  lived  as  if  her  doubts  had  been  solved  and  her  way 
made  perfectly  clear.  To  this  particular  servant  of  His 
the  Lord  seems  to  have  spoken  in  no  uncertain  tone  and 
in  a  way  not  to  be  misunderstood. 

I  should  say,  however,  that  Catherine  Putnam  had, 
notwithstanding,  a  full  measure  of  sorrow  and  trials. 
She  was  possibly  rather  dogmatic  in  her  method  of  hold- 
ing and  expressing  her  special  views  concerning  scriptural 
interpretation,  these  views  brought  her  early  into  issue 
with  her  fellow  Baptists  in  Brunswick.  After  a  short 
term  of  membership  in  the  First  Baptist  Church,  she 
seceded  with  a  small  number  of  the  congregation  and 
organised  a  Second  Baptist  Church  that  continued  in 
existence  during  her  sojourn  in  Brunswick,  but  which 
shortly  after  her  departure  was  again  absorbed  into  the 
original  congregation.  The  building  within  which  the 
Second  Baptist  congregation  held  its  services  was  many 
years  afterwards  enlarged,  and  is  now  (19 12)  occupied  by 
the  Brunswick  Historical  Association. 

I  should  give  a  wrong  impression  of  my  grandmother's 
Christianity    if    I    should    make   reference   only    to    her 


6  George  Palmer  Putnam 

theological  views  and  her  theological  contentions.  She  was 
in  fact  one  of  the  most  practical  and  consistent  Christians 
I  ever  knew.  Her  faith  and  her  practice  were  precisely 
the  same  on  Monday  as  on  Sunday.  It  was,  indeed,  one 
of  her  favourite  contentions  that  all  the  days  of  the  week 
had  been  made  by  the  Lord  and  that  they  were  all  to  be 
kept  holy.  She  considered  that  the  selection  by  the  Jews 
of  the  seventh  day  and  by  the  Christians  of  the  first  day 
for  special  observance  and  religious  service,  had  a  certain 
convenience  in  securing  uniformity  of  action,  but  was 
not  otherwise  important.  She  was  prepared,  whenever 
practicable,  to  give  to  religious  service  such  hours  of  each 
day  as  were  available,  while  she  did  not  consider  that  the 
performance  on  the  Sabbath  of  any  ordinary  and  necessary 
occupation  was  in  any  way  sinful.  All  the  days  given  to 
men  were  to  be  devoted  to  glorifying  God,  but  all  faithful 
service  done  during  the  fitting  hours  of  those  days  would 
be  accepted  by  God  as  done  for  His  glory. 

The  little  town  of  Brunswick,  in  1808,  when  Catherine 
Putnam  began  her  work  as  a  teacher,  did  not  differ  in 
any  material  respect  from  the  other  New  England  towns 
and  villages,  which  in  a  long  series  of  contests  against  the 
severities  of  the  New  England  climate,  varied  by  occa- 
sional campaigns  with  the  New  England  Indians,  had 
made  a  full  test  of  the  endurance  and  the  capacity  for 
fighting  and  for  living  of  the  sturdy  primitive  settlers. 
The  people  were  at  this  time  largely  engaged  in  fishing, 
but  there  was  some  farming  in  the  regions  that  could  be 
most  easily  reached  from  the  coast,  and  the  Androscoggin 
River  was  utilised  to  bring,  for  shipment  southward,  the 
timber  of  the  hills.  There  came  into  existence  also,  along 
the  banks  of  the  river  between  Brunswick  and  Bath, 
some  shipbuilding  yards,  in  which  were  constructed, 
not  only  the  smaller  smacks  and  sloops  and  schooners  for 
the  fisheries  and  coastwise  trade,  but  also  ships  of  con- 


Ancestry  and  E-arly  Years  7 

siderable  burden.  These  yards  were  utilised  effectively 
during  the  war  of  18 12-15  for  the  building  of  the  privateers 
which  made  so  much  havoc  with  the  commerce  of  the 
Canadas  and  of  the  British  West  Indies. 

Catherine  Putnam's  school  is  commemorated  in  the 
history  of  Brunswick  as  the  best  of  the  preparatory  schools 
that  had  as  yet  been  known  in  the  town.  In  connection 
with  the  management  of  this  school,  the  loyal  service 
and  effective  co-operation  of  Catherine's  most  intimate 
friend,  Narcissa  Stone,  must  not  be  forgotten.  Narcissa 
had  known  Catherine  Palmer  in  Boston  where  they  were 
at  school  together.  When  Henry  Putnam's  health  and 
law  practice  broke  down  and  the  young  wife  was  looking 
about  for  some  means  for  the  support  of  her  family,  it 
was  Narcissa  who  suggested  that  there  was  in  Bruns- 
wick an  opening  for  a  school  and  who  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  Mrs.  Putnam,  for  the  beginning  of  her  school 
operations,  a  house  owned  by  her  father. 

The  school  was  carried  on  for  a  year  or  more  in  the 
house  lent  by  Miss  Stone,  and  in  1809,  when  these  quarters 
had  been  outgrown  by  the  increasing  number  of  pupils, 
it  was  moved  into  what  was  then  known  as  the  Dunlap 
house,  which  is  at  this  time  in  the  possession  of  the  family 
of  the  late  Dr.  John  D.  Lincoln.  Mrs.  Putnam  remained 
there  for  eleven  years,  and  during  a  large  portion  of  this 
time  Miss  Stone  was  her  assistant.  The  friendship  of 
the  two  women  continued  during  the  lifetime  of  Narcissa, 
and  Catherine  always  spoke  of  her  as  a  woman  in  whom 
she  had  great  confidence,  and  whom  she  trusted  implicitly. 
In  1820,  Mrs.  Putnam  moved  her  school  into  what  was 
known  as  the  Forsyth  house.  Later,  she  occupied  one- 
half  of  the  house  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Mill  streets, 
the  other  half  being  occupied  by  Dean  Swift.  She 
remained  there  until  1829,  when,  the  house  having  been 
destroyed  by  fire,  she  removed  her  school  to  New  York. 


8  George  Palmer  Putnam 

One  of  the  local  writers,  describing  the  Brunswick 
community  of  the  time,  says  that  Mrs.  Putnam  was 
generally  recognised  as  an  excellent  woman  and  a  con- 
scientious and  capable  teacher.  I  find  from  certain 
references  in  the  history  of  Brunswick  that  Henry  Put- 
nam, being  driven  into  the  open  air  by  the  requirements 
of  his  health,  had  found  himself  fascinated  with  outdoor 
life,  with  the  result  of  becoming  diverted  from  the  inter- 
ests and  responsibilities  of  his  legal  work.  It  is  certain 
that  this  work  proved  neither  important  nor  remunerative, 
and  that  the  chief  burden  of  the  support  of  the  family 
came  upon  the  young  wife.  The  first  child  in  the  family, 
born  in  1808,  was  a  boy  who  was  called  Henry.  This 
child  was  four  years  old  at  the  time  of  the  breaking  out 
of  the  war  of  18 12.  He  died  in  January,  18 15,  shortly 
before  the  news  of  the  peace  had  arrived  from  Ghent. 
The  second  child,  Catherine,  was  born  in  18 10,  and  the 
third,  Anne,  in  18 12,  while  the  country  was  still  agitated 
by  the  troubles  and  disasters  of  the  war  times,  troubles 
which  not  even  the  brilliant  successes  of  the  little  navy 
were  sufficient  to  offset;  the  fourth,  George,  was  born  in 
18 14,  and  the  youngest  child,  Elizabeth,  was  born  in 
1816. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  in  connection  with  this  war  of 
1812-1815,  that  with  the  single  exception  of  the  battle 
of  New  Orleans,  practically  all  the  noteworthy  successes 
were  secured  by  the  navy.  The  war  had  been  largely  the 
result  of  Southern  sentiment  and  ardour,  but  the  army, 
which  was  very  largely  officered  from  the  South,  effected 
hardly  anything.  It  was  the  New  Englanders  who 
furnished  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  naval  forces 
and  who  brought  fame  to  the  flag  of  the  young  republic, 
while  it  was  in  New  England,  the  citizens  of  which  had 
protested  against  the  war  policy  of  the  administration, 
that  the  vessels  of  the  new  navy  were  built. 


.Ancestry  and  E.arly  Years  9 

George  received  his  training  with  his  sisters  in  his 
mother's  school,  in  which  was  presented  an  early  example 
of  coeducation.  The  people  of  Brunswick  did  not  have 
time  to  think  over  the  possible  advantage  of  providing 
separate  schoolrooms  for  boys  and  girls  whose  life  in 
other  respects  was  carried  on  in  common.  My  father 
occasionally  spoke  to  me  concerning  his  recollections  of 
Brunswick,  but  I  do  not  now  recall  anything  very  dis- 
tinctive or  important  in  his  reminiscences.  He  spoke  of 
skating  on  the  Androscoggin  River,  of  boating  down  the 
riv  r  to  the  big  shipping  yards  at  Bath,  and  of  enjoying 
the  sports  which  were  usual  in  the  New  England  country 
life  of  the  period.  He  told  me  that  he  had  once  been  able 
to  render  service  to  Bowdoin  College.  A  fire  having 
broken  out  on  the  roof  of  one  of  the  buildings,  owing  to 
the  carelessness  of  a  tinman  who  had  been  doing  some 
repairs,  George  ran  down  the  street  shouting  the  alarm. 
He  suggests,  in  his  modest  way,  that  it  was  probably  for 
this  service  that  the  college,  thirty  years  later,  when  he 
was  forty  years  of  age  honoured  him  with  the  title  of 
Master  of  Arts. 

The  system  of  work  in  the  Brunswick  school  was 
doubtless  modelled  (as  far  at  least  as  the  material  differ- 
ence in  circumstances  rendered  practicable)  upon  that 
of  the  famous  school  of  Mrs.  Rowson  in  Boston,  where  my 
grandmother  had  been  a  pupil.  Mrs.  Rowson  was  herself 
a  woman  of  good  family,  and  in  her  schoolrooms  had  been 
gathered,  during  the  last  years  of  the  eighteenth  century 
and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth,  representatives  of 
some  of  the  best  families  of  Boston.  She  was  the  author 
of  a  romance  belonging  to  the  sentimental  school  of  liter- 
ature, entitled  Charlotte  Temple.  The  book  had  consider- 
able vogue  at  the  time  and  was  reprinted  in  New  York  as 
late  as  1894.  It  was  in  Mrs.  Rowson 's  school  that  my 
grandmother  made  the  acquaintance  of  Narcissa  Stone, 


io  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

whose  friendship  was  later  so  valuable  in  more  ways 
than  one. 

In  1825,  when  George  Putnam  was  eleven  years  old, 
a  suggestion  came  to  his  mother  from  John  Gulliver,  a 
merchant  of  Boston  who  had  married  the  sister  of  George's 
father,  presenting  a  business  opening  for  George.  Mr. 
Gulliver  was  taking  into  apprenticeship,  or  into  employ- 
ment (the  more  formal  apprenticeship  having  by  this 
date  become  infrequent),  his  son  John  Putnam  Gulliver, 
who  was  of  the  same  age  as  his  nephew  George  Putnam. 
He  proposed  that  George  should  come  to  Boston,  where  he 
would  make  a  home  for  him  and  where  he  could  secure, 
in  company  with  his  cousin,  a  business  training  in  the 
work  of  the  store.  The  principal  article  dealt  in  by  Mr. 
Gulliver  at  that  time  was  carpets,  the  stock  including 
the  home-spun  material  from  the  country  districts  on  the 
one  hand  and  importations  from  England  on  the  other. 

Mr.  Gulliver  was  a  just  man  and  he  intended  to  do  what 
was  right  by  his  wife's  nephew.  I  judge,  however,  that 
both  in  his  business  methods  and  in  the  arrangement  of 
his  home  he  was  rather  hard  and  narrow.  George  cer- 
tainly had  all  the  luxuries  that  were  enjoyed  by  the  son 
of  his  employer,  but  these  were  few  and  far  between.  The 
boys  swept  out  the  store  in  the  early  morning  hours  and 
kept  it  clean  during  the  day.  For  some  time,  at  least  they 
slept  together  in  the  back  of  the  store.  I  doubt  whether 
they  had  anything  to  do  with  the  selling  of  goods,  but 
they  probably  did  have  some  responsibilities  in  connection 
with  the  delivery  of  packages.  During  the  rare  holiday 
hours,  there  was  fishing  in  the  Charles  and  from  the 
wharves  on  the  Bay,  and  in  the  winter  time,  there  was, 
of  course,  coasting  on  the  Common.  The  business  day 
was,  however,  a  long  one,  and  the  holidays  or  spare  hours 
came  at  rare  intervals.  The  Sabbath  was  observed  with 
full  New  England  strictness.     The  duties  of  the  day  in- 


Ancestry  and  Early  Years  n 

eluded  morning  and  evening  prayers  at  home,  and  in  the 
church,  Sunday-school  and  morning  and  afternoon  serv- 
ices, with  their  long  Puritan  sermons.  No  "frivolities" 
were  permitted,  and  under  this  term  was  understood  all 
reading  other  than  that  of  a  devotional  character.  Whether 
on  the  Sabbath  or  on  the  other  days  of  the  week,  reading 
matter  must  have  been  difficult  to  secure,  and  time  for 
the  use  of  books,  even  if  the  books  had  been  available, 
equally  difficult.  Young  Putnam  had  already  in  some 
way  developed  a  strong  taste  for  reading,  and  in  some  of 
his  later  letters,  after  he  had  reached  New  York  and  when 
he  had  at  hand  the  great  supplies  of  the  Mercantile  Li- 
brary, he  refers  more  than  once  to  this  "literary  starva- 
tion" in  Boston.  He  mentioned  once  to  my  sister  Minnie 
the  compunctions  of  conscience  he  experienced  when, 
while  still  an  inmate  of  his  Uncle  John's  family,  he  secured 
and  read  surreptitiously  a  volume  of  Miss  Edgeworth's 
Tales.  One  might  suppose  that  Miss  Edgeworth  was 
sufficiently  moral  in  tone  for  the  guidance  of  any  young 
person,  but  her  writings  belonged  to  the  forbidden  class 
of  fiction,  and  the  reading  of  them  constituted  therefore 
a  frivolity. 

George  had  in  his  mother's  time  been  accustomed  to 
a  strict  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  From  my  memory, 
however,  of  my  grandmother's  way  of  looking  at  things, 
I  judge  that  she  was  much  less  inclined  than  were  her 
fellow-church-members  to  draw  arbitrary  lines  between 
"Sunday  employment"  and  "Sunday  reading"  and  what 
was  proper  for  the  other  days  of  the  week.  Accord- 
ing to  her  contention,  all  days  were  God's  days,  and  no 
occupation  which  was  not  wholesome  in  its  character  and 
sound  in  its  purpose  should  be  permitted  on  any  day. 

The  following  letter  from  George  to  his  mother  throws 
some  light  upon  his  methods  of  life  in  Boston,  and  also 
upon  his  painstaking  conscientiousness. 


12  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Boston,  April  10,  1829. 
My  dear  Mother: 

I  have  been  expecting  to  hear  from  you  since  Miss  Stone 
returned  but  have  been  disappointed.  But  as  your  time  is 
no  doubt  entirely  taken  up  I  will  not  complain. 

You  know  I  keep  an  account  of  all  my  expenses;  I  have  a 
book  in  which  I  set  down  everything  which  I  have  from  Uncle 
G.  and  everything  from  you  separately,  and  I  wish  you  would 
state  in  your  next  what  the  Cloth  and  Cap  cost  which  you 
sent  last,  the  Cloth,  vesting,  gloves,  and  stockings,  and  the 
Book  for  Mary  P.  which  I  consider  as  at  my  expense.  The 
whole  amount  which  I  have  down  from  Oct.  1826- to  Jan. 
7,  1828,  (as  I  did  not  keep  an  account  before)  is  $44.38,  in- 
cluding Clothes  made  from  Uncle's  old  ones,  and  everything 
but  my  board.  When  I  was  at  Miss  MacDonald's,  he  paid 
$1.38  for  my  board  including  washing,  but  I  was  absent 
nights  and  Sundays.  I  however  took  18  meals  per  week,  a 
little  more  than  7  cents  a  meal,  which  I  think  is  very  cheap  as 
I  am  monstrous  hearty.  I  assure  you  I  never  want  for  appe- 
tite, especially  when  I  have  a  good  lot  of  Carpets  (which  we. 
deal  pretty  largely  in)  to  handle.  I  have  not  boarded  at 
G.  MacD's  since  I  was  sick  and  I  conclude  Uncle  does  not 
intend  to  have  me  any  more.  She  says  her  Mother  is  coming 
up  to  live  with  her  this  Spring. 

I  had  a  coat  made  last  December  from  an  old  one,  which  I 
put  down  on  my  book — for  the  coat  itself  $3.00 — for  making 
and  trimmings  $2.00 — Total  $5.00.  I  also  paid  a  bill  for 
tuition  in  writing  $1.00.  I  took  about  ten  lessons.  I  think 
I  learnt  a  dollar's  worth.  I  have  in  my  book  in  the  time  above 
stated,  1  pair  of  shoes,  3  vests  (old)  and  three  or  four  Coats 
and  Pantaloons,  all  old  but  one.  The  amount  on  your  side 
exclusive  of  those  things  named  above  which  I  do  not  know  is 
$10.91  which  I  had  in  N.  Y.  and  $6.00  cash  which  you  sent  to 
Mr.  G.;  spent  as  follows: — viz.,  paid  Dr.  P.  for  cleaning  teeth 
cost  $2.58.  Cash  for  Hat,  $2.50,  for  mending  Shoes  .42. 
trimmings  .50.  That  is,  the  $6.00  was  credited  in  first  place 
on  the  Book,  and  then  these  articles  charged  though  without 
reference  to  the  $6.00,  and  there  is  $4.21  charged  more.     He 


Ancestry  and  Early  Years  13 

had  not  kept  an  account  on  the  Book  before  you  sent  the 
money.  Since  the  1st  of  Jan.,  Aunt  has  had  the  vest  which 
you  sent,  made,  and  also  a  new  silk  one.  Narcissa  sent  me 
one  too,  so  that  I  am  well  supplied  with  vests.  The  Coat  is 
not  made  yet.  I  wear  the  one  which  was  made  in  December, 
constantly,  on  Sundays  and  in  the  week.  The  Brown  Suit 
which  you  sent  is  most  worn  out  and  I  have  most  outgrown 
them. 

I  have  stated  all  this  because  I  thought  you  would  like  to 

know.     I  am  at  present  in  special  need  of  nothing;  the  Coat, 

I  suppose  will  be  made  before  long,  and  I  have  pantaloons 

which  I  can  wear  this  summer  if  they  are  not  too  small.     I 

have  also  a  Black  Hat  most  new  and  a  good  great  Coat.     I 

am  rather  in  want  of  the  shirts  I  wrote  you  about.     Aunt 

says  if  it  is  not  convenient  for  you  to  send  them  she  will  make 

some;  she  has  delayed  it  because  she  expected  E.  would  make 

them.     If  you  send  them,  I  would  rather  you  would  not  make 

or  cut  the  collars,  as  I  want  to  have  them  cut  to  fit  well.     For 

my  part  I  do  not  think  you  ought  to  provide  any  more  clothes 

for  me,  I  feel  as  if  I  was  old  enough  not  only  to  support  myself 

but  to  help  you  instead  of  being  any  tax  upon  you ;  and  I  do 

not  think  that  it  is  any  more  than  right  for  Mr.  G.  to  provide 

my  Clothes  or  the  value  of  them.     You  know  best  however. 

I  think  Uncle  G.  would  be  perfectly  willing  to  do  it  all ;  You 

know  he  said  he  would.     I  know  I  have  not  been  so  faithful 

to  him  as  I  ought  to  have  been.     But  I  shall  try  at  least  to 

merit  his  confidence,  and  sufficient  compensation  to  enable 

me  to  help,  instead  of  being  a  burden  to  you.     So   much 

for  these  matters.— But  I  do  not  know  as  I  have  anything 

to   tell  which  would  be  pleasing  or  interesting  to  you.      I 

told  you  Mr.  Bourne  had  moved  here.     Aunt  G.  called   to 

see    Mr.    B.    the   other   day.     He  is   quite  feeble  and  does 

not  go  out  at  all.     Aunt  invited  Jane  to  go  to  our  meeting, 

and  I  called  for  her  the  next  Sabbath.      She  appeared  glad 

to  see  me,  so  did  her  mother.     He  had  gone  to  meeting.     Jane 

staid  at  the  communion   after   meeting.      I   did   not    know 

before  that  she  belonged  to  a  church.     I  always  thought  she 

was  rather  vain  and  conceited,  but  now  she  appears  very 


14  George  Palmer  Putnam 

amiable  and  kind.  Her  mother  I  should  think  was  an  excel- 
lent woman.  Aunt  introduced  Jane  to  Mr.  Green  after  service. 
He  was  very  much  surprised  and  delighted  to  see  her.  He  was 
very  intimate  with  the  family  when  a  tutor  at  Brunswick. 
Jane  says,  he  used  to  come  to  the  house  and  learn  her  little 
hymns  &c.  when  she  was  a  child.  George  has  grown  very 
much;  he  is  about  my  size;  Miss  Stone  says  Mr.  B.  is  very 
much  opposed  to  the  orthodox  and  is  not  willing  to  have  his 
wife  or  family  go  to  their  meeting.  Aunt  G.  sent  Mrs.  B. 
two  books  to  read  which  she  wanted  to  see.  She  invited  me 
to  call  and  see  them  often.  I  thought  they  would  want  to 
send  Maria  to  school  and  I  spoke  to  Aunt  Curtis  about  it. 
She  gave  me  one  of  her  school  Cards  which  I  gave  to  George 
but  it  was  too  late  as  they  had  sent  her  to  a  man's  school. 

Aunt  C.  said  she  wanted  to  write  to  you  and  she  will  prob- 
ably send  with  this.     You  owe  me  three  letters.     I  would 

write  to but  I  guess  this  will  do  for  all.     They  must  not 

think  me  negligent. 

I  go  to  Dr.  P.'s  about  once  a  week.  Uncle  thinks  I  had 
better  not  go  oftener,  and  I  think  so  too,  on  some  accounts. 
I  progress  a  little  in  the  French  but  I  think  it  will  take  me  some 
time  to  get  through  with  it.  Aunt  Pickman  was  here  a  short 
time  ago.  She  received  the  bundle  from  you.  I  have  most 
finished  my  paper  and  must  say  good-bye.  I  am  sorry  that 
I  have  to  do  this  and  that  I  am  not  where  I  could  be  with  you 
and  talk  familiarly  on  these  various  matters  and  have  your 
instruction  and  advice.  However  kind  and  affectionate  other 
friends  may  be,  they  are  not  like  a  tender,  anxious  mother, — 
But  as  providence  has  placed  me  from  you  and  I  am  sur- 
rounded with  so  many  comforts  and  blessings  and  kind  friends, 
I  will  be  happy,  and  contented ;  and  the  Grace  of  God  assisting 
me  I  will  try  to  act  the  part  of 

Your  affectionate  and  dutiful  son. 
Remember  me  to  Uncle  Palmer  and  family. 


CHAPTER  II 

Removal  to  New  YorK — Begins  Worh  as  a 
BooKseller 

GEORGE  PUTNAM  remained  in  the  carpet  business 
with  his  uncle  about  four  years.  In  1829,  he 
decided  to  try  his  chances  of  securing  a  liveli- 
hood in  New  York  City.  He  had  made  the  journey  from 
Brunswick  to  Boston  by  sea,  coming  round  Cape  Ann  in  a 
sloop.  His  journey  to  New  York  was  made  in  like  manner 
by  schooner  around  Cape  Cod.  He  speaks  of  the  schooner 
as  belonging  to  Captain  Nickerson's  "packet  line,"  and 
wrote  to  his  mother  that  the  voyage  was  varied  by  squalls 
at  Holmes's  Hole  and  Hyannis  and  by  reiterated  calms 
in  the  Sound. 

The  record  of  his  first  experience  in  New  York  can  most 
conveniently  be  given  in  my  father's  own  words.  He 
began  in  the  American  Publishers'  Circular,  in  July,  1863, 
what  was  apparently  planned  to  be  a  series  of  papers 
describing  what  he  remembered  about  the  book-trade  in 
New  York.  The  record,  as  far  as  it  came  into  print,  is 
chiefly  interesting  as  showing  the  energy  with  which  the 
youngster  began  his  business  career,  and  particularly  the 
application  by  which  he  endeavoured  to  supply  the  de- 
ficiencies of  his  education  and  to  make  up  for  lost  time  in 
reading.  It  appears  from  this  account  that,  after  being 
kept  at  the  store  until  nine  or  ten  in  the  evening,  he  would 
make  his  way   to   the  Mercantile    Library  and  devote 

15 


16  George  Palmer  Putnam 

himself  to  reading  (chiefly  in  history)  as  long  as  the  library 
was  kept  open.  Then,  taking  with  him  the  permitted 
allowance  of  books,  he  continued  his  reading  in  his  own 
room  until  one  or  two  o'clock.  He  had  to  report  in  the 
morning  again  at  the  store  at  eight. 

It  appears  further  from  this  chronicle  that  the  historical 
manual  which  formed  his  first  literary  production  was 
begun  the  year  of  his  arrival  in  New  York,  when  he  was 
fifteen  years  old,  and  that  it  was  completed  in  its  original 
form  in  three  years'  time.  He  speaks  of  having  shaped 
out  for  himself  a  course  of  historical  reading,  which  in- 
cluded Herodotus,  Thucydides,  Xenophon,  Livy,  Tacitus, 
Sallust,  Gibbon,  Russell's  Modern  Europe,  and  several 
histories  of  England,  such  as  Hume,  Lingard,  Smollett, 
and  De  Moleville.  This  historical  manual,  which  was 
later  developed  into  The  World's  Progress,  comprised,  in 
its  first  edition,  about  four  hundred  pages,  and  was  issued, 
in  1832,  by  Daniel  Appleton  and  Jonathan  Leavitt, 
under  the  title  of  Chronological  Introduction  and  Index  to 
Universal  History. 

The  article  also  records  young  Putnam's  first  venture 
as  an  editor.  In  1 833,  he  compiled  and  published,  through 
West  &  Trow,  a  weekly  chronicle  entitled  The  Publishers 
Advertiser.  His  name  did  not  appear  in  connection  with 
the  journal,  and  under  the  safe  protection  of  his  anonymity, 
he  undertook  to  review  the  current  publications  of  the 
day,  publications  which  in  that  year  included  the  first 
volume  of  Bancroft's  United  States,  Abbott's  Young 
Christian,  Mrs.  Sigourney's  Sketches,  Cooper's  Letters  to 
My  Countrymen,  the  first  of  the  long  series  of  romances  by 
Simms,  etc. 

The  article  previously  referred  to  overlaps  and  antici- 
pates some  of  the  later  events  in  my  father's  business 
life,  but  it  is  convenient  to  include  it  at  this  point  in  my 
memoir. 


THirty  "Years  in  tHe  Trade  17 

Rough  Notes  of  Thirty  Years  in  the  Trade. 

It  was  in  1829  that  the  book-trade  and  I  were  introduced 
to  each  other.  Four  years  before  that,  I  had  doubled  Cape 
Ann  on  my  sloop  voyage  from  away  down  east,  to  take  my 
chance  in  the  wide  world,  or  rather  in  the  great  city  of  Boston, 
which  I  imagined  to  be  at  least  equal  to  all  the  rest  of  sub- 
lunary things.  Four  years'  apprenticeship  there  in  the  busi- 
ness of  supplying  a  footing  for  the  understanding  of  the  modern 
Athenians — in  other  words,  selling  them  carpets — and  then 
my  fortunes  were  to  be  sought  in  what  seemed  at  that  period 
the  remote  El  Dorado  of  New  York.  Two  or  three  times  a 
week,  the  stages  would  start  off  hours  before  daylight  to  take 
passengers  to  "the  splendid  steamer  Washington,"  at  Provi- 
dence— a  longer  and  more  tiresome  journey  than  it  is  now  to 
New  York,  six  times  the  distance.  Not,  however,  by  the  swift 
luxury  of  the  stage-coach,  or  railway,  or  steamer  was  my 
momentous  journey  to  be  performed,  but  by  a  week's  voyage 
in  Capt.  Nickerson's  fast  schooner  round  Cape  Cod,  varied  by 
a  morning's  call  at  Holmes's  Hole  and  Hyannis,  and  by  reitera- 
ted calms  in  the  Sound.  Coenties  Slip  and  the  wonders  of 
Pearl  Street  were  approached  with  suitable  deference  and  awe, 
as  one  might  now  arrive  at  Moscow  or  Timbuctoo. 

Thus,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  afloat  in  the  great  metropolis, 
expected  to  make  my  own  way  in  the  world,  my  first  studies 
consisted  of  paragraphs  in  the  papers  beginning  "Boy 
wanted."  With  one  of  these  cut  from  the  Courier,  I  promptly 
presented  myself,  as  required,  at  the  counting  room  of  the 
great  mercantile  house  of  Phelps,  Peck  &  Co.,  on  the  corner  of 
Fulton  and  Cliff  streets. 

A  few  questions  from  the  rather  awful  personage  at  the  head 
of  the  firm  had  so  shaken  my  self-confidence  or  my  nerves  that 
when  I  essayed  a  specimen  of  handwriting,  as  he  directed,  the 
result  was  a  failure;  the  great  merchant  shook  his  head,  and  I 
departed  crestfallen.  A  year  or  two  after  this,  it  may  be  here 
mentioned,  this  great  house  tumbled  down,  not  metaphori- 
cally, but  literally,  burying  in  its  ruins  nearly  every  person  in 
the  building.  .  .  . 


18  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Vexed  with  the  defeat  of  this  first  application  for  "a  place," 
I  was  all  the  more  ready  for  the  next  chance.  At  a  little  book 
and  stationery  store  in  Broadway  near  Maiden  Lane,  there 
was  a  notice  in  the  window  of  "A  boy  wanted."  I  presented 
myself  on  the  spot.  "You  are  too  old;  only  a  small  boy  is 
wanted  for  errands,  to  sweep,  etc.,  and  to  live  in  my  family; 
wages  twenty-five  dollars  a  year  and  board."  "That  will  suit 
me;  if  you  choose  to  try  me,  I  don't  object  to  the  work  or  the 
pay."  The  docility  of  the  applicant  seemed  to  please,  and 
I  was  at  once  installed  in  the  situation.  This,  my  first  master 
in  the  book-trade,  was  Mr.  George  W.  Bleecker.  He  lived, 
London  fashion,  over  his  little  store,  a  practice  which  in  these 
days  neither  fashion  nor  economy  would  tolerate,  at  least  in 
Broadway.  He  published  a  quarto  monthly,  called  The 
Enter piad,  an  "Album  of  Music,  Poetry,  and  Prose."  My 
first  travel  out  of  New  York  was  a  cruise  up  the  Hudson  to 
canvass  for  the  interests  of  this  creditable  but  rather  short- 
lived periodical.  The  editor  of  the  Catskill  Recorder  of  that 
day,  and  perhaps  some  others  in  Hudson  and  Poughkeepsie, 
can  testify  to  my  zeal  if  not  to  my  success  in  this  expedi- 
tion. An  apprenticeship  of  a  year  or  two  as  clerk-of-all-work 
in  this  little  mart  of  school  books,  Andover  theology,  albums, 
stationery,  and  cheap  pictures,  was  not  a  severe  ordeal. 

J.  &  J.  Harper,  then  just  beginning  their  successful  career 
as  publishers,  were  supplying  the  market  with  the  new  English 
novels  on  the  whity-brown  paper  and  in  the  rough  paper 
labelled  boards  which  that  era  of  the  world  deemed  all-suffi- 
cient. In  the  production  of  many  of  these  novels  there  was  a 
lively  competition  between  the  Harpers  and  the  old-established 
house  of  Carey  &  Lea,  of  Philadelphia.  I  well  remember  the 
almost  frantic  delight  of  poor  McDonald  Clarke,  "the  mad 
poet,"  our  frequent  visitor,  when  the  enterprising  printers  of 
Cliff  Street  had  ventured  upon  so  great  an  investment  as 
Moore's  Life  of  Byron,  in  a  couple  of  very  fair  octavos.  This 
amiable  but  erratic  son  of  genius,  I  am  sorry  to  add,  used 
literally  to  swear  by  Byron,  who  appeared  to  be,  both  in  verse 
and  in  shirt  collar,  his  hero  and  his  model;  he  would  stand  at 
the  counter  eagerly  turning  over  Moore's  leaves  and  quoting 


THirty  "Years  in  tHe  Trade  19 

scraps.  Whether  his  purse  was  finally  equal  to  the  coveted 
purchase  is  now  uncertain. 

To  recall  the  unsolicited  and  mysterious  promotion  from 
this  errand-boy  position  to  the  dignity  of  first  clerk  in  the 
stately  "Park  Place  House,  an  emporium  of  literature  and 
art"  (since  degraded  into  the  vulgar  purposes  of  a  hotel)  and 
the  transfer  to  the  less  showy  but  more  active  duties  of  general 
clerk  and  messenger  for  Mr.  Jonathan  Leavitt,  in  the  two- 
story  building  on  the  corner  of  John  Street  and  Broadway,  and 
to  tell  of  the  incidents  of  trade  in  those  times,  might  be  tire- 
some and  unprofitable.  "Egotistical  stuff"  has  already  been 
muttered  by  the  reader.  I  will  try  to  drop  the  personal  pro- 
noun, only  retaining  it  when  needful  for  clearness  and  accuracy 
in  these  rough  and  rapid  recollections. 

No  more  worthy  or  conscientious  man  ever  published  or 
sold  books  than  Jonathan  Leavitt.  Shrewdness  and  good 
sense  made  up  for  him  the  lack  of  elementary  book-learning, 
and  he  became  the  leading  New  York  publisher  of  theological 
and  religious  books, — particularly  in  connection  with  Crocker 
&  Brewster,  of  Boston.  What  stacks  of  S.  T.  Armstrong's 
edition  of  Scott's  Bible  used  to  come  weekly  from  Boston; 
what  rows  of  Rosenmuller,  and  Calvin,  and  Tholuck  from 
Leipsic;  and  what  shelvesful  of  Calmet,  and  Lightfoot,  and 
Baxter,  and  Owen,  and  Lardner,  from  the  pioneer  in  "English 
remainders,"  Mr.  W.  C.  Hall,  the  Yankee  of  London!  The 
piles  of  these  consignments  from  England  and  Germany  grew 
so  high  that  an  extra  room  had  to  be  hired  for  them  in  the  Park 
Bank.  Mr.  Daniel  Appleton,  late  of  the  "dry  goods"  interest, 
and  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Leavitt,  was  there  installed  in  charge 
to  supply  the  trade.  This  excellent  gentleman,  thus  initiated 
among  books,  soon  after  became  the  founder  of  the  great  house 
of  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

At  this  time  (1832-33)  the  chief  publishers  of  the  land  were 
these:  In  Boston,  Lincoln  &  Edmunds  (succeeded  by  Gould  & 
Lincoln),  devoted  especially  to  the  views  of  the  Baptists; 
Crocker  &  Brewster  (still  flourishing  as  the  oldest  book  firm  in 
the  United  States),  the  leading  Orthodox  Congregationalist 
publishers;  Cummings  &  Hilliard,  afterwards  Hilliard,  Gray 


20  George  Palmer  Putnam 

&  Co.,  chiefly  engaged  in  school  books;  Lilly,  Wait  &  Co., 
reprinters  of  the  foreign  reviews,  etc.;  R.  P.  &  C.  Williams, 
respectably  rusty  in  the  general  trade;  Allen  &  Ticknor,  pre- 
decessors of  the  present  well-known  firm  of  Ticknor  &  Fields, 
on  the  classic  corner  of  School  Street,  clinging  with  praise- 
worthy tenacity  to  the  venerable  old  building  which  has 
survived  some  five  or  six  generations;  Little  &  Brown,  still 
flourishing  in  strength,  wealth,  and  respectability,  though  they 
have  lost  the  original  junior  partner,  Mr.  Brown,  one  of  the 
ablest  and  best-informed  publishers  this  country  has  pro- 
duced. Perkins  &  Marvin  and  some  smaller  concerns  were 
also  flourishing  in  Boston. 

In  New  York,  the  old  and  most  respectable  firm  of  Collins  & 
Hannay  carried  on  the  best  of  the  "jobbing  trade"  on  Pearl 
Street,  the  sorted  stock  of  Dabolls  and  Websters,  and  slates 
and  sponges,  and  Ames's  papers  filling  three  or  four  lofts, 
supervised  by  the  versatile  and  witty  John  Keese;  T.  &  J. 
Swords,  the  "ancient  Episcopal  publishers  in  Broadway," 
whose  imprint  may  be  found  dated  as  early  as  1792;  Evert 
Duyckinck,  an  estimable  man,  father  of  the  well-known 
authors,  E.  A.  and  G.  L.  Duyckinck;  S.  Wood  &  Sons  (the  sons 
worthily  continuing)  and  Joseph  B.  Collins  in  the  school  book 
and  jobbing  trade;  Elam  Bliss,  the  gentlemanly  and  popular 
literary  caterer  on  Broadway  (where  Trinity  Buildings  now 
stand),  whose  elegant  little  Talisman,  edited  by  Bryant,  Ver- 
planck,  and  Robert  C.  Sands,  was  the  father  of  American 
"Annuals,"  and  a  good  deal  better  than  some  of  the  children; 
G.  &  C.  Carvill,  the  English  successors  of  the  still  more  famous 
Eastburn,  on  the  corner  of  Wall  Street  and  Broadway,  the 
most  extensive  retail  dealers  in  general  literature  (including 
English  books),  and  like  Bliss's  opposite,  the  lounging  place 
of  the  literati;  George  Dearborn,  then  a  new  star,  also  "gentle- 
manly" and  intelligent,  issuing  double  column  Byrons,  Shake- 
spearcs,  Johnsons,  Burkes,  and  Rollins,  besides  the  American 
Monthly,  the  Republic  of  Letters,  and  the  New  York  Review; 
Jona.  Lcavitt,  as  aforesaid,  taking  charge  especially  of  the 
department  of  theology;  and  the  brothers  Harper,  as  men- 
tioned, were  building  up  their  gigantic  business  of  producing 


THirty  Years  in  tKe  Trade  21 

general  literature,  then  chiefly  consisting  of  reprints  from 
English  authors.  In  Philadelphia,  this  main  branch  of  the 
trade  was  then  largely  in  the  control  of  Carey  &  Lea,  successors 
of  the  famous  Mathew  Carey,  a  name  that  will  alway  be 
remembered  as  an  honour  to  our  "craft,"  in  the  premises  still 
occupied  by  Blanchard  &  Lea,  the  leading  medical  publishers. 
This  house  was  then  issuing,  in  quarterly  volumes,  the  Ency- 
clopaedia Americana,  edited  by  Dr.  Lieber,  an  enterprise  of 
considerable  magnitude  for  that  day.  Carey  &  Hart,  in  the 
same  "corner  of  Fourth  and  Chestnut,"  rivalled  the  Harpers 
in  their  dispensations  of  the  new  novels,  and  also  in  more 
solid  literature.  John  Grigg,  a  publisher  and  bookseller  of 
remarkable  ability,  rare  judgment,  and  tact,  afterwards  Grigg 
&  Elliott,  published  largely  in  medicine  (as  did  also  the 
Careys),  but  "everybody  knows  Eberle's  is  the  best 
Practice,"  and  the  "Standard  Poets,"  "in  the  best  Phila- 
delphia sheep,"  and  Weems's  Washington,  and  Gaston's 
Collections  and  Wirt's  Patrick  Henry,  and  the  Cases  of 
Conscience,  but  doing  a  still  greater  trade  in  furnishing  the 
"country  dealers"  in  a  thousand  places,  south  and  west, 
with  their  whole  supplies  of  "books  and  stationery,"  thus 
founding  the  present  extensive  business  of  Lippincott  &  Co., 
besides  one  or  two  princely  fortunes  for  the  retiring  partners. 
The  rest  of  the  trade  in  school  and  other  books  was  divided 
between  Hogan  &  Thompson,  Uriah  Hunt,  Key  &  Biddle, 
and  a  few  others. 

In  Andover,  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Flagg  printed  the  learned 
works  of  Moses  Stuart  and  Leonard  Woods.  In  Hartford, 
"Uncle  Silas"  Andrus  would  grind  out  cords  of  Shakespeares, 
Byrons,  Bunyans,  and  Alonso  and  Melissas,  suited  for  the 
country  trade;  and  the  Huntingtons  and  Robinsons  produced 
cart-loads  of  Olneys  and  Comstocks.  In  Springfield,  the 
Merriams  printed  Chitty's  law-books  and  others,  but  had  not 
yet  begun  to  work  the  golden  mine  of  "Webster's  unabridged." 
Here  and  there  a  book  would  come  along  with  the  imprint  of 
Hyde  of  Portland,  Kay  of  Pittsburg,  Howe  of  New  Haven, 
Metcalf  of  Cambridge,  Gould  of  Albany,  Armstrong  of  Balti- 
more; but  the  three  great  cities  first  named,  then  as  now, 


22  George  Palmer  Putnam 

monopolised  the  bulk  of  the  book-making — Boston  rather 
leading  the  van. 

The  importation  of  English  books  was  almost  wholly  in  the 
hands  of  Thomas  Wardle,  of  Philadelphia,  a  sturdy  Yorkshire- 
man,  who  had  served  as  porter  at  Longmans',  in  London. 

Thus  were  all  these  names,  thirty  years  since  (and  many  of 
them  happily  remain),  "  familiar  in  our  mouths  as  household 
words." 

At  this  era,  stereotyping  was  the  exception  (and  in  England 
is  so  yet).  With  us  it  is  now  the  rule.  Then,  editions  of  iooo 
copies  of  new  books  from  type  were  the  average;  those  of  500 
copies  were  as  usual  as  any  exceeding  2000.  Advertising  was 
then  an  expense  so  trifling  as  to  be  scarcely  taken  into  account ; 
now,  it  frequently  adds  one-half  to  the  cost  otv  a  book. 
Authors'  fortunes  were  as  rarely  found  in  books  as  in  gold- 
mines; but  then,  as  now,  school  text-books  were  often  sources 
of  large,  steady  income,  both  for  author  and  publisher. 

In  process  of  time  Mr.  Daniel  Appleton,  after  a  short  con- 
nection with  Mr.  Leavitt,  opened  his  own  separate  business  at 
No.  200  Broadway.  Among  the  investments  divided  was  one 
in  an  edition  of  1000  copies  of  a  volume  of  my  own,  of  some  400 
pages,  then  just  printed,  entitled  Chronology,  an  Introduction 
and  Index  to  Universal  History.  It  was  rather  grand  to  have 
to  say  that  two  great  publishing  firms  were  required  to  produce 
my  first  work;  for  this  little  book  of  reference  thus  anony- 
mously put  forth  by  two  (now  rival)  sponsors  had  been 
honestly  compiled,  originally  for  my  own  benefit  alone,  from 
some  150  different  volumes  of  historical  works.  In  itself  the 
book  was  "of  no  consequence,"  except  as  an  ordinary  manual 
of  historical  dates ;  but  the  origin  of  it  I  may  be  pardoned  for 
noticing  only  as  an  encouragement  for  other  lads  in  the  same 
circumstances.  It  had  so  happened  that  although  my  father 
had  graduated  at  Harvard,  and  my  home  influences  were  of  the 
educated  and  cultivated  sort,  I  had  not  received  even  the 
ordinary  elementary  "schooling,"  to  say  nothing  of  a  college 
course,  and  further,  I  had  been  permitted  even  less  than  ordin- 
ary access  to  general  reading.  It  is,  therefore,  a  pleasure  to 
testify,  as  I  can  very  heartily,  to  the  usefulness  of  the  New 


THirty  Years  in  tKe  Trade  23 

York  Mercantile  Library,  then  a  few  years  old,  and  just  located 
in  the  new  Clinton  Hall,  in  Beekman  Street,  the  corner-stone 
of  which  I  had  seen  laid  by  that  liberal-minded  citizen,  Philip 
Hone.  In  these  degenerate  days,  boys  in  my  position  of  six- 
teen or  seventeen  are  usually  dismissed  from  the  "store"  at 
six  or  seven  o'clock.  In  1831-32,  we  were  kept  till  nine  or 
ten ;  so  that  it  was  usually  after  nine  when  I  could  get  up  to  the 
Mercantile  and  take  out  my  book.  It  chanced  that  my  tastes 
rather  turned  from  the  novels  to  the  more  solid  interest  of  a 
course  of  history.  Beginning  with  Father  Herodotus  (in 
Beloe's  English)  I  plodded  on  through  Thucydides,  Xenophbn, 
Livy,  Tacitus,  Sallust;  then  Gibbon,  Russell's  Modern  Europe, 
several  histories  of  England,  including  Hume,  Lingard,  Smol- 
lett, and  De  Moleville.  Crammed  with  some  hundred  and 
-fifty  octavos,  rapidly  mastered  in  succession,  and  with  no  clear 
guide  at  hand,  personal  or  in  book-shape,  to  systematise  and 
classify  the  stock  of  lore  thus  acquired,  I  began  to  take  notes 
and  make  parallel  tables.  I  copied  and  recopied,  and  collated 
and  revised  until  I  had  written  over  a  couple  of  reams.  Much 
of  this  industry  might  have  been  spared  if  I  had  fallen  in  with 
any  book  of  tables,  such  as  now  abound;  but  I  look  back  upon 
this  little  exercise  in  amateur  historical  "research"  as  the  best 
self-discipline  and  drilling  I  could  have  contrived.  I  can't 
imagine  any  more  profitable  self-instruction  for  a  boy  than 
something  of  this  kind — a  digest  of  what  he  has  read  or  studied, 
prepared  by  himself,  in  systematic  form,  for  easy  reference  and 
remembrance.  The  manual  I  refer  to  was  commenced  at  the 
age  of  fifteen,  and  occupied  me  about  three  years,  chiefly  at 
night,  between  ten  and  two  o'clock.  When  matured,  as  it 
appeared  useful  to  me,  I  imagined  it  might  be  worth  printing 
for  others.  Mr.  Leavitt  said,  "Yes,  if  some  learned  man  will 
examine  it." 

So  I  gathered  pluck  enough  to  present  myself  and  my  little 
wares  to  some  of  the  literati.  The  first  I  called  upon  was  Rev. 
Professor  McVickar,  of  Columbia  College.  Looking  at  me 
somewhat  sternly,  as  he  turned  over  the  leaves,  he  asked, 
"Where  were  you  educated,  sir?" 

"  I  have  never  had  any  education,  sir." 


24  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

"Ah!"  (expressively). 

The  MS.  was  presently  handed  back  to  me  with  the  intima- 
tion that  it  was  not  deemed  expedient  to  promote  and  encour- 
age any  such  presumption  as  my  request  and  my  statement 
implied. 

The  next  savant  approached  was  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Schroeder, 
a  man  of  extensive  learning,  whom  I  found  in  his  library  sur- 
rounded by  Talmuds  and  Targums  and  scores  of  folios  and 
quartos  which  would  have  put  Dominie  Sampson  into  ecstasies. 
Dr.  S.  was  specially  remarkable  for  courtesy  and  suavity  of 
manners.  Nothing  could  be  kinder  than  my  reception.  His 
scrutiny  was  not  very  severe;  but  he  gave  me,  nevertheless,  a 
recommendation  so  cordial  and  emphatic  that  Mr.  Leavitt  was 
won  over  at  once.  Mr.  Gray,  of  Cherry  Street,  was  sent 
for,  and  the  printing  of  the  book  was  commenced.  It  took  a 
whole  year  to  get  the  volume  through  the  press.  In  1832, 1 
carried  home  a  bound  copy,  only  quietly  elated  with  my  "au- 
thorship." The  edition  was  soon  sold  out  in  both  the  rival 
Houses,  and  for  twenty-five  years  the  book  has  been  "o.  p.  q." 
(the  "Row"  sign  for  "out  of  print  quite"). 

I  was  still  an  underclerk  at  Mr.  Leavitt's  counter,  but  the 
habit  of  digesting  and  arranging  facts  and  figures,  acquired  in 
making  the  Chronology,  spurred  me  on  to  attempt  what  seemed 
a  desideratum  in  the  trade — a  periodical  register  of  the  pub- 
lishing business.  So  I  persuaded  an  enterprising  firm  of  print- 
ers, West  &  Trow  (the  latter  still  one  of  the  leading  printers 
of  the  country),  to  let  me  edit  such  an  affair  for  them,  and  it 
was  accordingly  issued  through  the  year  1834,  under  the  title 
of  the  Booksellers'  Advertiser.  In  this,  besides  giving  lists  of 
new  books,  foreign  and  American,  and  statistics,  I  amused 
myself,  if  not  others,  in  essaying  an  occasional  "Notice,"  or 
short  review  of  new  books. 

The  audacity  of  this  conduct  on  the  part  of  a  boy  who  could 
not  give  a  single  rule  in  English  grammar  is  sufficiently  obvi- 
ous to  those  who  "know  the  ropes";  but  it  is  not  a  solitary 
instance,  I  imagine,  of  a  bray  behind  a  lion's  skin,  and  only 
reveals  a  small  bit  of  the  hollow  pretension  of  the  mysterious 
editorial   "we."     Thus  twenty-seven  years  ago,   "we,"   the 


Thirty  Years  in  the  Trade  25 

errand  boy,  actually,  reviewed  with  becoming  gravity  and 
decorous  brevity,  the  first  volume  of  Bancroft's  United  States, 
Knapp's  Female  Biography,  Jack  Downing 's  Letters,  Abbott's 
Young  Christian,  Mrs.  Sigourney's  Sketches,  Simms's  Guy 
Rivers,  Cooper's  Letters  to  my  Countrymen,  Stewart's  Great 
Britain,  Rapelye's  Voyages,  etc. 

In  a  brief  notice  of  a  volume  of  Mrs.  Sigourney,  "we"  took 
care  to  embody  a  remark  about  the  book  which  "we"  had 
overheard  in  the  store  from  the  venerable  "counsellor"  George 
Griffin.  When  the  paper  was  published,  the  good  old  gentle- 
man came  in  with  a  copy  in  his  hand,  took  his  accustomed 
chair,  put  up  one  of  his  long  "continuations "  to  be  nursed  over 
the  other,  adjusted  his  glasses,  and  began  reading  "our"  notice 
as  a  remarkable  corroboration  of  the  opinion  he  had  expressed, 
etc.  Of  course  "we"  demurely  enjoyed  the  little  joke  none 
the  less  for  its  being  harmless. 

This  little  monthly,  the  grandfather  of  the  present  Pub- 
lishers' Circular,  was  I  believe  the  first  attempt  in  this  country 
to  furnish  a  booksellers'  journal  with  a  statistical  record  of 
American  publications.  The  scope  of  it  was  limited,  of  course, 
yet  it  was  received  with  favour,  and  "promised  to  pay"  in  time, 
but  I  was  unable  to  give  it  the  needful  attention.  The  editor's 
name  was  only  given  in  the  "Valedictory,"  in  which  it  was 
stated  that  the  paper  "had  been  well  received  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic,"  and  had  been  "noticed  in  complimentary 
terms  by  various  contemporaries.  I  resign  it  because  it  can- 
not be  properly  attended  to  without  interfering  with  more 
legitimate  duties,  or  infringing  on  midnight  hours." 

This  quotation  brings  to  a  close  the  sketch  of  remi- 
niscences., -and  the  papers  of  my  father's  that  have  been 
preserved  fail  to  give  any  more  autobiographical  material. 

In  the  foregoing  reminiscences,  George  records  his 
engagement  in  the  shop  of  Jonathan  Leavitt.  In  this 
position,  he  earned  as  his  second  salary  the  sum  of  $2  a 
week,  which  was  increased  after  a  few  months  to  $4.  His 
work  was  rather  varied,  including  not  only  the  sweeping 


26  George  Palmer  Putnam 

out  of  the  shop,  the  dusting  of  books,  the  filling  of  ink- 
stands, and  other  details  such  as  to-day  would  be  given 
to  the  charge  of  a  porter  appointed  for  the  purpose,  but 
also  tasks  more  strictly  clerical,  such  as  the  copying  of 
letters,  and,  after  the  first  year,  the  cataloguing  of  books. 
With  an  income  of  $208  a  year,  he  thought  it  in  order  to 
pay  for  a  seat  in  church. 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life,  George  had  at  his  command 
practically  as  many  books  as  he  wanted,  the  only  difficulty 
now  being  to  procure  time  for  their  perusal.  He  devoted 
himself  more  particularly  to  the  study  of  history,  and  in 
1 83 1,  when  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  he  began  the 
compilation  of  the  work  described  in  his  own  narrative, 
which  combined  chronological  tables  with  historical  facts, 
and  which  was  published  in  1 833  in  a  thin  volume  which 
was  finally  entitled  The  World's  Progress.  The  World's 
Progress  was  reissued  from  time  to  time  in  successive 
revised  and  enlarged  editions  until,  in  1870,  it  had  in- 
creased to  a  thick  octavo  of  1200  pages.  One  division  of  the 
work,  the  plan  of  which  was,  as  I  understand,  original  with 
my  father,  presenting  in  parallel  columns  what  he  called 
a  "tabular  view"  of  the  most  noteworthy  historical 
events,  it  has  been  found  desirable  to  keep  in  print,  and 
this  portion  of  my  father's  original  work,  "with  sup- 
plementary pages  added  by  other  hands,"  is  still  being 
published  under  the  title  of  Tabular  Views  of  Universal 
History. 


CHAPTER  III 
Wiley  &.  Putnam,  1840 

IN  1833,  my  father  entered  the  employ  of  Wiley  &  Long, 
publishers  and  booksellers.  The  senior  partner,  John 
Wiley,  was  but  a  year  older  than  himself.  In  1840, 
the  firm  of  Wiley  &  Putnam  was  formed. 

The  book  business  of  New  York  was  at  this  time  in  a 
comparatively  undeveloped  condition.  The  literary  activ- 
ity which  produced  books  was  greater  in  Boston,  while 
the  work  of  distributing  the  literature  of  the  country  to 
the  communities  of  the  Southern  States  and  to  the  still 
very  much  restricted  territories  in  the  West  which  con- 
tained any  booksellers  or  any  very  considerable  number 
of  book-buyers,  was  being  chiefly  cared  for  in  Philadelphia. 

The  principal  publishers  in  New  York  in  1840  were 
J.  &  J.  Harper,  later  Harper  &  Bros.,  whose  publishing 
interests  had  already  developed  to  importance  from  the 
original  printing  concern.  The  firm  when  organised  as 
Harper  &  Bros,  comprised  the  well-known  quartet,  James, 
John,  Wesley,  and  Fletcher. 

The  firm  of  the  Appletons  had  already  been  founded  by 
Daniel  Appleton,  who  had  recently  come  to  the  city  from 
western  Connecticut  and  who  was  a  brother-in-law  of 
Jonathan  Leavitt. 

In  1840,  the  principal  retail  booksellers  in  New  York 
were  Stanford  &  Swords.     This  house  made  a  special 

27 


28  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

interest  of  church  books,  both  of  the  partners  being  active 
members  of  Trinity  Parish,  but  their  stock  included  also 
a  very  good  collection  of  general  literature.  They  were  suc- 
ceeded in  the  years  following  by  C.  S.  Swords  &  Co.  and 
D.  G.  Francis.  During  these  successive  changes,  the  char- 
acter of  the  business  had  also  altered,  the  denominational 
association  becoming  Unitarian  in  place  of  Episcopal. 

Jonathan  Leavitt,  who  was  the  first  employer  of  George 
Putnam,  had  his  book-shop  in  Nassau  Street.  His  son, 
William  H.  Leavitt,  later  gave  up  his  retail  book  business 
and  devoted  himself  to  selling  books  at  auction.  The 
semi-annual  trade  sales  of  the  publishers,  organised  in  the 
first  place  by  Bangs  &  Co.,  were  afterwards  carried  on  for 
many  years  by  the  Leavitts. 

A  very  important  proprotion  of  the  stock  of  the  book- 
sellers of  that  time  was  made  up  of  works  imported  from 
England.  American  literature,  while  slowly  developing, 
was  still  far  from  sufficient  to  supply  even  the  very  incon- 
siderable reading  public  which  then  existed.  The  poets 
of  the  country  were  largely  grouped  about  Boston,  which 
for  the  following  quarter  of  a  century  remained  the  centre  of 
poetical  production  of  the  country.  Thanatopsis  had  been 
written  and  was  printed  in  Boston,  although  its  author 
had  already  made  his  way  to  New  York.  George  P. 
Morris  and  Nathaniel  Willis  shared  with  Halleck  the 
prestige  of  being  the  poets  of  New  York.  Cooper  had 
written  his  earlier  books,  which  were  also  among  his  best. 
Irving's  Salmagundi,  Knickerbocker,  Sketch  Book,  Alham- 
bra,  Bracebridge  Hall,  and  Columbus  had  been  published, 
and  were  to  be  credited  to  the  literature  of  New  York, 
although  their  author  was,  during  the  larger  portion  of 
the  years  which  included  their  publication,  a  resident  first 
of  England  and  later  of  Spain.  Theodore  S.  Fay  pub- 
lished shortly  after  1840  one  or  two  novels  which  were 
considered  noteworthy. 


Wiley  &.  Putnam,   1840  29 

The  first  ocean  steamer  had  already  crossed  the  Atlantic 
twelve  years  back,  but  trade  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  was  still  being  chiefly  carried  on  by 
sailing  vessels,  the  average  time  of  the  passage  being 
forty  days.  Freights  were,  however,  not  expensive  and 
there  was  at  the  time  no  duty  on  books.  The  monthly  ship- 
ments from  London  formed,  therefore,  a  very  important 
portion  of  the  business  of  the  new  house. 

In  the  absence  of  any  international  copyright,  all  of* 
the  English  publications  that  seemed  likely  to  prove  of 
interest  to  American  readers  were  promptly  reprinted 
in  American  editions,  from  the  sales  of  which  the  authors 
derived  no  benefit.  The  same  course  was  taken  by  not  a 
few  English  publishers  with  such  American  books  as  were 
likely  to  prove  popular  with  English  readers,  but  the  list 
of  these  was  at  that  date  comparatively  small. 

I  now  resume  the  narrative  as  nearly  chronologically  as 
the  data  will  permit,  a  narrative  which,  in  part,  of  necessity 
overlaps  the  record  given  in  the  article  already  quoted. 
Shortly  after  the  beginning  of  George's  business  career 
in  Boston,  Mrs.  Putnam  decided  upon  the  venturesome 
step  of  removing  from  the  village  of  Brunswick  to  the  great 
city  of  New  York.  She  could  at  that  time  have  had  but 
few  friends  in  New  York  and  I  do  not  know  what  sugges- 
tions, if  any,  may  have  come  to  her  concerning  the  prac- 
ticability of  establishing  among  strangers  a  school  which 
would  give  support  for  herself  and  her  children.  The 
group  included  three  out  of  the  five  that  had  been  born  to 
her;  Catherine,  the  second  child,  had  died  quite  suddenly 
in  1827,  when  she  was  seventeen  years  old,  while  the  oldest, 
Henry,  had  lived  only  to  his  seventh  year.  She  brought 
with  her  Anne,  who  was  at  that  time  seventeen,  and  the 
youngest,  Elizabeth,  who  was  thirteen.  My  grandmother 
had  a  sister  living  in  New  York  who  had  been  a  widow 
since   1826.     Her  married  name  was  Curtis.     She  had 


30  George  Palmer  Putnam 

before  her  marriage  been  a  teacher,  and  she  was  probably- 
able  to  give  some  help  in  getting  the  school  started.  Mrs. 
Putnam  was  already  known  also  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cone,  who 
was  at  the  time  probably  the  leader  of  the  Baptist  com- 
munity of  the  country  and  who  then  had  charge  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church,  whose  building  was  on  the  corner 
of  Broome  and  Elizabeth  streets.  My  grandmother  had 
met  Dr.  Cone  in  Boston  at  some  Baptist  gatherings  and 
he  had  knowledge  of  her  own  active  and  intelligent  service 
in  Christian  work.  She  took  membership  in  the  Broome 
Street  Church,  where  she  soon  became  a  member  of 
influence.  She  remained  associated  with  the  Church  until 
her  death  in  1869.  Dr.  Cone's  friendship  was  undoubt- 
edly of  service  in  helping  to  secure  the  first  group  of 
scholars.  We  may  assume  that  later,  as  the  reputation 
of  the  school  increased,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  filling 
up  the  classes. 

Mr.  Isaac  Townsend  Smith,  of  Boston,  who  married 
Elizabeth,  the  youngest  of  my  father's  sisters,  told  me, 
recalling  in  1895  the  memories  of  sixty  years  or  more  back, 
that  when,  in  1830,  he  first  came  to  know  the  mother  of 
his  future  wife,  the  school  must  have  been  already  upon 
an  assured  business  foundation.  It  was  his  impression 
that  Mrs.  Putnam  had  been  able  to  bring  about  this  result 
without  incurring  any  indebtedness  or  financial  obligations. 
I  have  a  memory,  however,  of  a  reference  made  by  my 
grandmother  to  a  loan  which  came  to  her,  shortly  after  her 
removal  to  New  York,  from  her  old-time  friend,  Narcissa 
Stone. 

My  grandmother  appears  to  have  accepted  no  more 
pupils  than  she  was  able  to  give  personal  attention  to. 
After  devoting  a  few  years  to  the  school  work,  she  decided, 
in  order  to  obtain  more  leisure  for  work  in  the  Church 
and  in  the  missions,  to  secure  through  boarders  the  nec- 
essary addition  to  her  income.     Among  the  first  boarders 


Wiley  &  Pvitnam,   1840  31 

who  were  taken  were  Park  Benjamin  and  Epes  Sargent, 
two  young  men  who  had  recently  come  to  the  city  to 
engage  in  journalism.  The  latter,  a  year  or  two  later,  went 
to  Boston  to  take  editorial  work  on  the  Transcript.  His 
brother,  John  O.  Sargent,  while  I  think  never  a  boarder 
in  the  house,  was  a  frequent  visitor  and  became  a  very 
close  friend  of  my  father,  to  whose  generation  he  belonged. 
John  Sargent  was  at  that  time  at  work  on  the  staff  of  the 
Courier  and  Inquirer,  the  owner  and  chief  editor  of  which 
was  General  James  Watson  Webb.  It  is  probable  that, 
between  1830  and  1840,  General  Webb  might  be  described 
as  the  leading  journalist  in  the  country.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  councils  of  the  Whig  party,  of  which  the 
Courier  was  one  of  the  important  organs. 

My  grandmother's  first  home  in  New  York  was  in 
Varick  Street.  Later,  she  lived  successively  in  Crosby, 
Bleecker,  and  McDougal  streets.  Bleecker  Street  had  at 
that  time  the  reputation  of  representing  quiet  and  solid 
respectability.  It  is  my  impression  that  the  house  in 
McDougal  Street  was,  however,  the  most  capacious  of 
her  several  residences  and  it  was  in  that  house  that  the 
boarders  were  taken.  Whether  engaged  in  school  work  or 
later  in  connection  with  her  active  service  in  the  Church 
and  her  interests  with  certain  groups  outside  of  the  Church, 
Mrs.  Putnam  seems  to  have  won  for  herself  in  this  larger 
community  a  satisfactory  position  and  repute.  Her  home 
became  the  centre  of  an  active  and  varied  social  circle. 
The  guests  of  the  house  included,  in  addition  to  the  pastor 
and  the  workers  in  the  Broome  Street  Church  and  the 
somewhat  different  set  of  Christians  who  were  helping  my 
grandmother  to  carry  on  the  sailors'  missions,  certain 
visitors  who  were  in  many  ways  the  opposite  of  these 
Christian  friends.  My  grandmother  had,  apart  from  her 
interest  in  the  religious  condition  of  mankind,  a  very  active 
sympathy  with  all  peoples  who  wTere  contending  against 


2,2  George  Palmer  Putnam 

tyranny  and  were  attempting  to  secure  the  rights  of  man 
as  Americans  understood  these  rights.  She  would  doubt- 
less have  been  horrified  to  have  any  opinions  of  hers  asso- 
ciated with  those  of  Rousseau  or  of  Thomas  Paine.  She 
must,  however,  at  this  time  have  used  not  a  few  phrases 
"tthich  had  their  origin  with  Paine  or  with  the  French 
school  back  of  Paine,  and  she  was  certainly  cordially  in 
sympathy  with  not  a  few  of  the  ideas  which,  as  expressed 
by  Paine  and  later  by  Jefferson,  had  had  so  important  an 
influence  in  the  founding  of  our  nation.  It  was  from  this 
side  of  her  temperament  that  she  found  herself  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  Polish  and  Hungarian  exiles  who  between 
1830  and  1850  were  coming  to  New  York  in  increasing 
numbers.  These  guests  of  the  Republic,  or  at  least  cer- 
tain among  them  who  brought  recommendations  of  one 
kind  or  another,  found  a  welcome  at  my  grandmother's 
table,  and  while  she  had  no  money  of  her  own,  she  was 
undoubtedly  able  through  her  influence  to  secure  for  the 
needier  cases  subscriptions  from  moneyed  friends. 

The  young  firm  of  Wiley  &  Putnam  had  before  them, 
from  month  to  month,  the  English  books  for  which  there 
was  the  most  continued  demand  in  the  American  market, 
and  they  had,  of  course,  the  same  opportunities  as  those 
possessed  by  their  American  competitors  for  printing 
American  editions  of  any  of  these  books  which  seemed 
likely  to  prove  profitable.  The  publishing  division  of  the 
business  was  more  particularly  in  charge  of  my  father,  Mr. 
Wiley's  training  and  inclinations  causing  him  to  be  more 
interested  in  the  work  of  bookselling.  From  the  outset 
of  his  career  as  a  publisher,  my  father  declined  to  consider 
any  suggestions  for  publishing  works  of  contemporary 
authors  excepting  under  arrangements  with  those  authors. 
Irrespective  of  the  protection  or  lack  of  protection  afforded 
by  the  law,  he  held  that  authors  should  be  left  in  full  con- 
trol of  their  own  productions  and  that  political  bound- 


Wiley  &.  Putnam,  1840  33 

aries  had  no  logical  connection  with  the  property  rights 
of  the  producer. 

In  1837,  Just  before  he  associated  himself  with  Mr. 
Wiley,  my  father  acted  as  secretary  for  what  was  probably 
the  first  international  copyright  association  organised  in 
this  country.  Among  the  men  whose  names  were  included 
in  the  list  of  the  association  were  Bryant,  Albert  Matthews, 
Halleck,  Cooper,  and  Fay.  It  may  be  mentioned  now, 
in  advance  of  its  proper  chronological  place,  that  in  all 
the  subsequent  movements  that  were  made  in  behalf  of 
international  copyright  between  1837  and  the  time  of  his 
death  in  1872,  my  father  took  an  active  part,  while  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  these  copyright  undertakings  were 
initiated  at  his  own  instance  and  were  conducted  very 
largely  through  his  efforts. 

In  1840,  not  many  months  after  the  beginning  of  the 
operations  of  the  firm  of  Wiley  &  Putnam,  my  father 
made  his  first  business  journey  to  England.  He  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  the  time  had  come  for  a  closer  relation 
between  the  book-trades  of  the  two  countries  and  that  his 
own  firm  might  advantageously  take  an  active  part  in 
helping  to  establish  such  relations.  He  succeeded  in 
inducing  Mr.  Wiley  (who  was  always  the  more  conserva- 
tive of  the  two  partners)  to  consent  to  the  plan  of  estab- 
lishing a  branch  house  in  London,  and  in  1841  he  made 
his  second  journey  to  England  and  opened  in  Paternoster 
Row  (the  old-time  centre  of  the  book-trade  of  London) 
the  first  agency  for  the  sale  of  American  books  in  Great 
Britain. 

While  this  was  specified  as  the  distinctive  object  of  the 
agency,  the  more  remunerative  portion  of  its  business  con- 
sisted in  the  purchase  of  English  publications  for  sale  in  the 
United  States.  At  that  time  (and  for  many  years  there- 
after) by  far  the  larger  proportion  of  the  books  supplied  to 
American  readers  were  the  productions  of  British  authors. 


34  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Of  such  books,  only  the  smaller  number  could  depend  upon 
a  sufficiently  extended  demand  in  the  American  market 
to  warrant  the  production  of  editions  printed  in  the  United 
States,  and  of  these  works,  therefore,  it  was  the  English 
editions  for  which  sale  was  found  and  which  had  to  be 
imported  for  the  purpose.  With  the  increase  of  the  book- 
manufacturing  facilities  in  the  United  States,  and  with 
the  cheapening  of  methods  for  producing  books,  it  became 
practicable  to  secure  profit  from  American  editions  of  a 
larger  proportion  of  these  English  works,  such  editions 
being  in  part  authorised  and  issued  under  arrangement 
with  the  English  authors,  but  in  the  larger  number  of 
cases  representing  simply  the  appropriation  of  the  work  of 
the  English  author.  The  production  of  these  American 
editions,  whether  authorised  or  unauthorised,  lessened  of 
necessity  the  importation  of  the  English  issues  of  the  works 
of  the  more  popular  British  authors. 

Of  the  book-importing  business  done  between  1841  and 
1848,  Wiley  &  Putnam  had  a  fair  share,  and  the  relations 
established  by  my  father,  during  the  seven  years  of  his 
sojourn  in  London,  with  British  authors  and  with  British 
publishers  proved  of  far-reaching  influence  in  subsequent 
years  in  connection  not  only  with  the  publishing  under- 
takings of  his  own  firm,  but  with  the  later  business  of  his 
sons. 

Having  completed  his  preliminary  business  arrange- 
ments and  having  opened  the  office,  or  rather  the  shop,  in 
Paternoster  Row,  my  father  returned,  during  the  same 
year,  1841,  to  New  York  for  the  purpose  of  securing  cert- 
ain supplies  of  American  books,  and  for  the  still  more 
important  purpose  of  marriage. 

The  wife  was  Victorine  Haven,  whom  he  had  met  a  year 
or  two  earlier  in  New  York,  when  she  was  a  pupil  in  my 
grandmother's  school  in  Bleecker  Street.  She  was  at  that 
time  living  with  her  only  sister  Corinna,  who  was  the  wife 


Wiley  &  Putnam,   1840  35 

of  John  Bishop,  a  retired  sea-captain.  There  was  in  the 
Haven  family  one  brother,  Julius,  who  was  six  years  older 
than  my  mother.  He  had  run  away  to  sea  when  a  school- 
boy and  had  been  heard  from  only  at  long  intervals. 
Corinna,  the  elder  daughter,  was  ten  years  older  than  my 
mother  and  had  had,  since  her  marriage,  the  responsibility 
for  the  care  and  for  the  education  of  her  younger  sister. 
It  was  through  her  selection  of  Mrs.  Putnam's  school  that 
my  mother  and  father  were  brought  together. 

The  Haven  girls  remained  in  Dorchester  until  the  mar- 
riage of  Corinna,  when  Mr.  Bishop,  who,  in  taking  to  him- 
self his  wife,  understood  that  he  was  also  to  care  for  her 
little  sister,  established  his  own  home  in  New  York.  He 
happened  to  select  a  house  in  Bleecker  Street  which  was 
not  far  from  that  in  which  Mrs.  Putnam  was  carrying  on 
her  school.  My  mother  always  spoke  with  very  full 
appreciation  of  the  affectionate  care  given  to  her  first  by 
Mr.  Bishop.  At  the  time  she  became  a  pupil  in  Mrs. 
Putnam's  school,  she  must  have  been  about  fourteen 
years  old.  At  the  time  of  her  marriage  in  1841  she  was 
sixteen  years  old,  my  father  being  ten  years  older. 

In  connection  with  the  various  removals  of  the  family 
home,  it  proved  practicable  to  preserve  but  a  small  portion 
of  the  family  correspondence.  I  find,  however,  in  one 
scrap-book  a  fragmentary  series  of  letters  from  my  father 
to  my  mother,  beginning  with  several  written  in  1840, 
before  and  immediately  after  their  engagement,  and  end- 
ing with  a  brief  note,  without  date  but  belonging  from  its 
contents  to  1871,  the  year  before  his  death.  The  greater 
number  of  these  letters  are  too  personal  for  use. 

I  reproduce  two  of  those  written  shortly  before  the  brief 
engagement  period,  and  interesting  chiefly  on  the  ground 
of  their  graphic  little  pictures  of  Washington  as  it  appeared 
during  the  early  forties,  the  slave-holders'  Washington. 
These  letters  are  in  a  sense  very  personal,  that  is,  they  give 


36  George  Palmer  Putnam 

a  distinct  impression  of  the  personality  of  the  writer,  of 
his  receptive  and  intelligent  interest  in  the  things  about 
him,  and  also  of  the  keenness  of  the  pleasure  (such  as  has, 
of  course,  come  to  thousands  of  young  lovers)  in  utilising 
his  own  impressions  and  opinions  to  bring  him  into  sym- 
pathetic relations  with  his  correspondent,  still  of  necessity 
more  or  less  of  a  stranger. 

The  fact  that  these  earlier  letters  are  characterised  by  a 
certain  primness  of  expression  natural  to  the  generation 
(they  begin  for  instance,  "My  dear  Miss  Haven "),  and  the 
further  fact  that  they  are  so  largely  devoted  to  descrip- 
tion, prevent  me  from  feeling  that  their  reproduction  here 
is  any  breach  of  confidence. 

Washington,  D.  C,  June  4,  1840. 
Library  of  Congress,  The  Capitol. 

Had  you  not  given,  my  dear  Miss  Haven,  a  tacit  assent  to 
a  proposed  sketch  of  the  Senate,  "taken  on  the  spot,"  I  should 
scarcely  have  ventured  that  excuse  for  a  letter;  but  perhaps 
this  is  not  the  worst  excuse  that  ever  was  thought  of,  for 
writing  to  a  young  lady  without  leave. 

I  think  you  told  me  you  had  not  visited  Washington,  yet  I 
dare  say  you  have  the  place  familiarly  in  your  "mind's  eye." 
It  will  truly  be  a  gigantic  city — when  it  is  finished!  Ecce 
signum ! 

[Here  follows  a  diagram  of  the  city.] 

N.  B.  This  map  is  not  from  actual  survey.  These  are  a 
part  of  the  general  outlines  only.  Of  course  there  are  multi- 
tudes of  streets  between  these  Avenues,  but  these  are  made  to 
"radiate"  from  the  two  prominent  buildings — the  Capitol 
and  the  White  House.  The  Penn.  Avenue  between  these  two 
buildings  is  a  mile  and  a  half  long  and  120  feet  wide,  nearly  as 
wide  again  as  Broadway.  The  whole  length  of  this  Avenue, 
from  the  Navy  Yard  to  Georgetown,  is  nearly  six  miles.  When 
you  remember  that  the  private  houses  are  greatly  scattered, 


Washington  in  1840  37 

and  mean  in  their  appearance,  and  that  the  two  great  buildings 
(especially  the  Capitol)  are  elevated  far  above  the  greater  part 
of  the  town,  you  will  have  some  idea  of  its  appearance.  But 
how  silly  it  is  to  attempt  to  describe  places.  You  must  come 
and  see  for  yourself.  I  will  only  say  that  the  Capitol  is  really 
a  noble  building — in  spite  of  its  white  paint.  The  situation  is 
superb — and  the  view  from  the  balcony  of  the  library,  where 
I  am  sitting,  is,  of  itself,  worth  a  visit  to  Washington.  The 
grounds  about  the  Capitol  are  very  beautifully  laid  out  and 
contain  a  great,  variety  of  trees,  plants,  and  flowers,  kept  in 
fine  order.  I  am  glad  to  see  that  there  is  some  taste  extant 
even  in  this  ultra-radical  and  utilitarian  age. 

When  I  reached  the  Senate  Chamber  this  morning,  I  found 
the  galleries  crowded  with  "beauty  and  fashion"  listening  to 
a  masterly  speech  by  Mr.  Clay,  on  the  Bankrupt  Bill — a 
measure  in  which  I  presume  you  don't  feel  any  special  interest. 
Yet  you  would  have  been  interested  in  Mr.  Clay's  pathetic 
appeal  in  behalf  of  the  honest  debtor — who  had  been  crushed 
by  misfortune  and  not  by  his  own  faults  or  extravagance — ■ 
and  whose  exertions  for  the  future  were  checked  and  cramped 
by  fears  of  an  unfeeling  and  grasping  creditor.  This  is  one  side 
of  the  picture,  and  one  which  should  certainly  be  considered, 
but  it  is  astonishing  what  different  views  one  receives  on  the 
same  subject  from  different  orators.  Mr.  Clay  was  replied  to 
by  Senator  Wright,  of  New  York,  who  undertook  to  defend 
the  cause  of  the  creditors.  I  will  not  tire  you  with  dry  details. 
They  were  both  fine  specimens  of  argument  and  oratory,  and 
I  wish  you  had  heard  them. 

There  are  several  noble-looking  men  in  the  Senate,  and  taken 
as  a  whole,  I  think  it  is  a  much  more  dignified  and  better  look- 
ing Assembly  than  the  British  House  of  Lords.  Calhoun  is 
the  most  remarkable  one  among  them.  He  seems  the  very 
beau-ideal,  the  condensed  essence  of  the  Southern  character — 
talented,  chivalric,  hot-headed,  and  obstinate.  Webster, 
Preston,  Benton,  Grundy,  in  fact  almost  every  member  was 
in  his  seat  to-day.  While  Mr.  Clay  was  speaking,  John  Quincy 
Adams  came  in  with  his  arm  in  a  sling.  His  appearance  is 
truly  remarkable  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  him  as  the 


38  George  Palmer  Putnam 

special  representative  of  the  last  century  and  of  the  great 
founders  of  our  country  and  its  constitution.  He  is  the  only 
one  in  either  House  who  looks  like  those  great  men.  I  have 
had  the  honour  of  an  introduction  to  Mr.  Webster,  Mr.  Tal- 
mage,  and  Senator  Preston  of  S.  C,  and  have  been  invited  to 
Mr.  Talmage's  to-morrow  morning. 

There  are  a  great  many  strangers  here  now,  but  not  so  much 
gaiety  they  say  as  usual. 

You  will  wonder  why  I  bestow  upon  you  so  much  tediousness 
about  nothing,  and  I  can  scarcely  account  for  it  myself  except 
that  a  certain  young  lady  in  New  York  has  been  more  in  my 
thoughts  than  other  matters  with  which  they  should  more 
properly  be  occupied. 

Hoping  for  your  gracious  absolution,  I  remain 

Very  respectfully, 

Geo.  P.  Putnam. 

Washington,  June  6,  1840. 
My  dear  Miss  Haven: 

I  have  been  trying  to  think  of  some  plausible  excuse  for  this 
second  infliction  of  an  unauthorised  epistle  to  a  young  lady 
who  perhaps  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  read  it,  or  if  she  does, 
will  only  be  amused  at  the  self-complacency  and  impertinence 
of  the  writer.  However,  I  concluded  to  "cudgel  my  brains  no 
farther,"  but  to  rest  satisfied  in  the  assurance  that  the  said 
young  lady  has  too  much  benevolence  in  her  disposition  to  be 
seriously  offended  even  by  a  dull  letter  from  one  who  feels  a 
great  regard  for  her  good  opinion. 

I  have  discovered  that  Washington  is,  after  all,  a  very  stupid 
place.  This  discovery  was  not  made  until  I  found  that  my 
business  will  detain  me  here  (much  against  my  will)  until 
Tuesday  next,  and  how  to  exist  till  then  is  a  problem  yet  to  be 
solved.  The  Senate  does  not  sit  to-day,  and  there  is  so  much 
noise  and  confusion  and  calling  of  "yeas  and  nays"  "previous 
questions"  in  the  House,  that  I  have  finally  deserted  and 
left  them  to  settle  (or  unsettle)  the  affairs  of  the  Nation  with- 
out my  assistance.  It  is  to  be  hoped  they  will  eventually  come 
to  their  senses,  but  the  case  seems  desperate. 


WasKington  in  18-40  39 

There  was  quite  an  interesting  debate  yesterday  in  the 
Senate.  I  wash  I  could  give  you  an  idea  of  the  tone  and  man- 
ner of  the  different  speakers,  particularly  of  Mr.  Clay.  He  has 
a  most  melodious  voice.  In  its  lowest  tones,  even  in  a  whisper, 
it  is  heard  distinctly  in  every  part  of  the  hall,  and  his  manner 
is  inimitably  graceful  and  impressive.  There  is  a  Senator  from 
Arkansas  (Sevier)  who  talks  like  a  steamboat ;  he  bolts  ahead 
and  slashes  away,  right  and  left,  in  his  speeches,  in  the  most 
elegant  stump-orator  style,  which  always  puts  the  Senate  into 
good  humour  and  sometimes  occasions  a  hearty  laugh.  In  the 
course  of  his  speech  yesterday,  which  was  such  a  "harum- 
scarum"  tirade  that  nobody  could  make  out  what  he  was 
driving  at,  Mr.  Clay  would  every  now  and  then  call  out  with 
richly  sarcastic  good  humour,  "that  's  sound  doctrine" — 
"that  's  as  plain  as  A  B  C,"  etc.  The  tone  in  which  he  spoke 
was  irresistibly  ludicrous. 

Mr.  Webster  also  made  a  speech  yesterday,  and  it  was  the 
first  time  I  had  heard  him  in  a  regular  argument.  He  does  not 
win  you  so  much  by  his  manner  and  his  voice,  as  Mr.  Clay,  but 
he  excels  in  making  what  he  attempts  to  prove,  perfectly  clear 
and  tangible  to  the  comprehension  of  every  one;  there  is  a 
strong  force  and  substance  in  his  arguments  which  give  them 
immense  weight.  He  appeals  rather  to  the  understanding, 
Mr.  Clay  to  the  heart. 

Mr.  Calhoun,  the  "Cast-Iron  Man,"  as  Miss  Martineau 
calls  him,  said  a  few  words,  but  they  were  quite  enough  to  show 
his  impetuous  character.  He  seems  incapable  of  doing  or 
saying  anything  except  under  an  impetuous  impulse  and 
excitement.     He  would  be  a  dangerous  man  for  President. 

I  called  with  a  friend  at  the  "Palace"  to-day,  and  we  were 
shown  the  "East  Room"  where  his  Democratic  Excellency 
gives  levees  and  balls.  It  is  really  a  very  handsome  apartment 
and  if  it  had  a  few  fine  paintings,  would  be  equal  to  almost  any 
belonging  to  Queen  Victoria.  The  house  generally  is  worthy 
of  the  Nation,  and  I  for  one  don't  care  how  handsome  they 
make  the  residence  of  the  chief  magistrate,  especially  as  it 
belongs  to  "Us  the  people."  It  is  to  be  wondered  that  in  this 
ultra-Democratic  age,  some  of  the  "people"  do  not  rise  in  the 


40  George  Palmer  Putnam 

"majesty"  of  their  "reserved  rights"  and  take  possession  of 
one  or  two  of  the  apartments  in  "Our  Palace." 

I  spent  an  hour  this  morning  very  pleasantly  in  the  studio 
and  picture  gallery  of  C.  King,  a  very  distinguished  artist  who 
has  long  resided  here;  I  wonder  he  has  not  been  more  known 
at  the  North.  He  has  two  large  rooms  filled  with  his  own 
paintings,  some  of  which  are  remarkably  fine.  I  have  never 
had  a  greater  treat  of  the  kind.  He  has  also  there  for  the 
present  Sully's  great  picture  of  Victoria,  which  I  presume  you 
saw  in  New  York.  It  is  exceedingly  beautiful,  and,  though  a 
good  deal  flattered,  a  capital  likeness.  The  position  and  the 
style  of  tho  picture  were  acknowledged  even  by  the  English 
artists  to  be  better  than  any  they  have  done  there. 

You  will  perceive  that  I  have  written  merely  "for  the  sake 
of  it"  and  not  because  there  was  anything  of  interest  to  tell 
you.  If  anything  seriously  affecting  the  welfare  of  the 
Country  should  transpire  during  my  stay,  I  shall  apprise  you 
by  a  special  express.     Till  then,  dear  young  lady,  believe  me, 

Yours  with  sincere  respect, 

George  P.  Putnam. 

The  wedding  journey  was  taken  to  Washington  during 
the  brief  administration  of  President  Harrison.  The 
bride  was  presented  to  the  President,  who  took  the  liberty 
of  putting  his  finger  under  her  chin  and  saying,  "  How  old 
are  you,  my  child?" 

My  father's  aunt,  Mrs.  Peabody,  left  three  daughters. 
The  eldest,  Elizabeth,  never  married,  but  gave  an  active 
life  to  work  which,  while  very  varied  in  character,  was 
always  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  Miss  Peabody  had 
more  "causes"  in  hand  than  any  person  of  whom  I  ever 
knew.  She  lived  to  be  over  ninety,  and  in  the  course  of 
her  years  of  active  life  (and  all  her  years  after  girlhood 
must  have  been  active)  she  had  to  do  with  associations  or 
with  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  independence  of  Poland,  the 
freedom  of  Hungary  from  Austrian  rule,  the  revolutionists 
in  the  states  of  South  America,  the  protection  of  the 


ElizabetH  Peabody  41 

American  Indians,  the  freedom  of  the  negroes,  the  work  for 
women's  suffrage,  the  efforts  for  the  higher  education  of 
women,  the  kindergarten  system  for  the  education  of  child- 
ren, the  reform  of  tenement  houses,  the  cause  of  liberal 
faith  as  against  Calvinism,  and  many  other  undertakings 
which  I  could  not  at  this  moment  name.  She  was  an 
active  worker  during  the  Civil  War  in  helping  to  get  the 
soldiers  to  the  front  and  in  caring  for  the  invalids  and 
wounded  on  their  return.  When  she  had  convinced  her- 
self that  some  wrong  needed  to  be  righted,  she  was  equally 
clear  in  her  mind  that  there  must  be  no  possible  delay. 
The  wrong  ought  if  possible  to  be  gotten  rid  of  before 
another  sun  had  set.  She  was  equally  clear  that  others 
ought  to  be  as  zealous  and  as  prompt  in  their  interest  as 
herself.  Whether  it  was  for  the  cause  of  a  nation  or  the 
aid  of  an  individual,  she  was  perfectly  ready  to  talk  about 
it  to  any  one — relation,  friend,  acquaintance,  or  stranger 
— and  to  demand,  rather  than  to  request,  aid  and  co-opera- 
tion. I  remember  a  story  of  one  Boston  merchant  who 
under  her  pressure  had  arranged  by  will  to  leave  to  some 
cause  which  she  had  at  heart  a  legacy  of  $10,000.  A  day 
or  two  after  he  had  made  this  promise  she  went  back  to 
him  with  a  fresh  suggestion.  She  had  been  talking  with 
some  life  insurance  people  and  had  gotten  some  ideas 
about  average  longevity  and  the  present  expectation  of 
life,  calculations  which  are  to-day  much  more  a  matter 
of  routine  than  they  were  half  a  century  ago.  She  had 
calculated  out  the  expectation  of  life  of  her  acquaintance 
and  wanted  him  now  to  agree  to  give  her,  in  place  of  the 
promised  legacy  of  $10,000,  a  check  for  the  present  value 
of  the  same  with  interest  deducted.  I  understand  that 
this  particular  subscription  was  not  secured. 

The  second  sister,  Mary,  married  Horace  Mann,  who 
did  noteworthy  work  later  in  helping  to  develop  the  edu- 
cational system  of  the  country.     Mr.  Mann  was  for  some 


42  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

years  of  his  life  a  teacher  at  the  head  of  a  school  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  later  was  made  president  of  Antioch  College 
at  Yellow  Springs,  Ohio,  one  of  the  first  of  the  colleges 
planned  for  coeducation.  He  died  there  in  i860.  He 
left  some  important  treatises  bearing  upon  the  science  of 
education.  His  wife  worked  cordially  with  her  sister 
Elizabeth  in  the  long  series  of  reforms  and  causes,  but 
while  her  interest  was  almost  equally  earnest,  it  is  my 
memory  that  she  had  a  better  sense  of  proportion  and  was 
not  so  aggressive  in  demanding  sympathy  and  co-opera- 
tion. She  died  about  1870.  The  youngest  of  the  three 
sisters,  Sophia,  married  Nathaniel  Hawthorne.  Sophia 
must  have  had  as  a  young  woman  a  good  deal  of  beauty. 
She  was  still  beautiful  when  I  first  knew  her  in  middle  life. 
She  was  my  father's  favourite  cousin,  and  he  was  able 
after  the  death  of  Hawthorne  to  be  of  service  to  her  in 
more  ways  than  one. 


CHAPTER   IV 
Life  in  London 

IT  must  have  been  with  some  dread  of  her  new  responsi- 
bilities that  my  mother  took  her  departure  in  the 
autumn  of  1 841  for  her  new  home  in  London.  She  was 
only  sixteen  years  old  and  had  never  before  been  absent 
from  her  sister  (who  had  been  for  her  practically  a  mother) 
for  more  than  a  few  days  at  a  time.  While  her  sister  was 
the  kindest  of  guardians,  it  is  probable  that  her  judgment 
in  regard  to  practical  training  was  not  very  judicious. 
I  recall  hearing  from  my  mother  that  the  only  housekeep- 
ing instruction  she  remembered  receiving  was  as  to  the 
detail  of  cutting  up  loaf  sugar  into  small  pieces  for  the 
sugar-bowl.  The  housekeeping  convenience  of  sugar  cut 
into  lumps  by  machinery  in  even  sizes  and  of  granulated 
sugar  was  an  invention  of  later  date. 

The  responsibility  now  came  upon  my  mother  not 
merely  of  organising  and  carrying  on  a  household,  but  of 
doing  this  in  a  strange  country  the  methods  of  which 
must  have  been  in  many  ways  unfamiliar  and  difficult  of 
mastery.  She  had  in  London  at  the  outset  no  women 
friends.  My  father  had,  however,  during  his  previous 
sojourn  come  into  pleasant  personal  relations  with  a  num- 
ber of  interesting  Londoners,  some  of  whom  became  and 
remained  close  personal  friends,  and  my  mother  seems  to 
have  been  particularly  fortunate  in  attracting  to  herself, 

43 


44  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

very  speedily  after  her  arrival,  a  social  circle  of  her  own. 
It  would  seem  as  if  the  social  faculty  which  was  possessed 
by  my  father  in  a  very  marked  degree,  and  in  which  my 
mother  also  shared  very  largely,  proved  sufficient  to  over- 
come more  readily  than  usual  the  English  reserve  and  the 
prejudices  (more  active  in  1841  than  half  a  century  later) 
against  Yankees. 

Among  the  earliest  friends  whose  friendship  continued 
for  a  lifetime  were  John  Champney  Rutter  and  his  wife, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Newton,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John 
Graham.  The  circle  also  included  as  friends  or  as  pleas- 
ant acquaintances  Mrs.  Cowden  Clarke  (who  had  been 
Miss  Novello),  Robert  Balmanno,  Edward  Moxon,  the 
publisher  of  Tennyson  and  of  Lamb,  and  Nicholas  Triib- 
ner,  a  scholarly  young  German  who  had  come  to  London 
to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  book-trade. 

The  young  couple  made  their  first  home  in  Euston 
Square,  not  far  from  the  present  Euston  Station.  From 
there,  after  I  believe  a  year's  sojourn,  they  migrated  to  St. 
John's  Wood,  the  house  being  in  some  small  street  leading 
out  of  St.  John's  Wood  Road.  The  third  home,  where 
they  remained  during  the  longer  portion  of  their  seven 
years'  residence  in  London,  was  in  Mornington  Road,  the 
approach  to  which  is  from  Tottenham  Court  Road. 
Nearly  all  the  houses  in  the  Road  had,  London  fash- 
ion, names  as  well  as  numbers,  and  my  father  promptly 
utilised  for  his  gate-post  the  very  distinctive  title  of 
' '  Knickerbocker  Cottage. 

My  father  had  a  taste,  which  might  almost  be  called  a 
genius,  for  hospitality.  The  income  was  at  this  time 
limited,  and  the  entertainment  that  could  be  afforded  to 
guests  must  have  been  modest.  My  father  believed, 
however,  that  the  right  kind  of  people  would  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  being  together  and  of  coming  to  know  his  wife, 
and  the  little  cottage  seems  to  have  had  a  considerable 


Life  in  London  45 

number  of  guests  from  week  to  week.  The  visitors  repre- 
sented a  rather  curious  variety  of  individuals.  They 
included  not  only  staid  and  conservative  Londoners  like 
the  Rutters  and  the  Newtons,  but  an  interesting  group  of 
Continental  exiles  and  of  visitors  who  may  not  have  been 
precisely  exiles  but  who  had  associated  themselves  with 
the  Leicester  Square  colony.  I  do  not  think  my  father 
would  ever  have  called  himself  a  revolutionist,  and  I  doubt 
whether  he  had  any  very  keen  interest  in,  or  any  very  full 
understanding  of,  the  character  of  the  organisations  which 
were  at  this  time  scheming  to  bring  about  in  Germany, 
France,  Italy,  Poland,  and  elsewhere  the  movement 
that  finally  resulted  in  the  revolution,  or  rather  in  the 
revolutions,  of  1 848.  It  is  not  clear  to  me  just  what  it  was 
that  attracted  my  father  to  the  revolutionists  or  them  to 
him.  It  is  possible  that  the  men  whose  talk  was  of  repub- 
lics for  Europe  felt  that  they  could  always  trust  to  the 
friendly  sympathies  of  an  American  republican.  It  is  also 
possible  that  as  my  father  had  no  knowledge  of  French, 
German,  or  Italian,  some  of  his  revolutionary  friends  and 
acquaintances  may  have  considered  the  little  parlors  of 
Knickerbocker  Cottage  a  safe  place  in  which  to  do  their 
talking,  undisturbed  by  any  of  the  political  supervision 
which  was  dreaded  by,  and  which  was  possibly  exercised 
over,  doubtful  gatherings  in  Leicester  Square,  and  free  also 
from  any  risk  of  meeting  the  monarchical  spies,  some  of 
whom  were  unquestionably  at  that  time  earning  in- 
comes in  London  by  watching  the  refugees. 

The  circle  that  came  together  from  time  to  time  in 
Knickerbocker  Cottage  included  Mazzini  and  other  less 
well-known  Italians,  who  had  more  or  less  to  do  with  the 
Carbonari;  Karl  Blind,  from  Berlin;  Louis  Blanc,  from 
Paris,  and  a  quiet,  ill-featured,  sallow-cheeked  young  man 
who  was  known  a  few  years  later  as  Napoleon  the  Third. 

I  do  not  know,  of  course,  that  Napoleon  and  Mazzini 


46  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

actually  met  at  my  father's  house,  and  I  doubt  whether 
there  could  ever  have  been  much  in  common  between  the 
earnest,  honest,  and  rather  bitter  revolutionist  of  Italy 
and  the  self-seeking  schemer  of  France.  Both  men,  how- 
ever, did  come  to  the  cottage  and  each  found  occasion 
more  than  once  to  express  appreciation  of  my  father's 
friendly  service  and  hospitality. 

I  remember  my  father  saying  that,  on  the  famous  10th 
of  April,  1848,  the  day  on  which  the  great  petition  for  the 
Charter  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  and  when 
outbreaks  in  London  were  apprehended,  he  met  Louis 
Napoleon  carrying  a  musket  as  a  special  constable  on  Lon- 
don Bridge.  The  Chief  of  Police  or  the  Home  Secretary 
had  sworn  into  service  as  additional  guards  for  the  metro- 
polis a  number  of  citizens,  who  were  given  badges  and 
authority  as  special  constables  and  who,  on  the  10th  of 
April  and  for  a  day  or  two  thereafter,  were  provided  with 
muskets.  It  is  probable  that  a  considerable  proportion  of 
the  trusty  butchers  and  grocers  were  handling  muskets  for 
the  first  time  in  their  lives.  In  a  number  of  Punch  issued 
during  the  Charter  days  there  is  a  picture  of  one  of  these 
citizen  constables  in  his  uniform,  surrounded  by  admiring 
members  of  his  family,  drying  his  powder  on  a  shovel  over 
the  kitchen  stove !  Louis  Napoleon  needed,  however,  no 
instruction  in  the  use  of  the  musket,  and  on  this  day  he 
contributed  his  services  to  the  preservation  of  the  peace 
of  London.  My  father  told  me  that  he  congratulated  the 
Prince  on  his  public-spirited  readiness  to  serve  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  had  made  his  home.  "Yes,  Mr. 
Putnam,"  said  Louis;  "London  is  a  great  city,  of  value  to 
the  whole  world.  The  peace  of  London  must  be  pre- 
served." Two  or  three  months  later,  after  the  flight  from 
Paris  of  Louis  Philippe,  Napoleon  left  London  and  present- 
ed himself  to  the  voters  of  France  as  a  candidate  for  the 
presidency.     Frenchmen   could   have  known  very  little 


Life  in  London  47 

about  the  personal  character  or  the  abilities  of  the  nephew 
of  Napoleon  the  First.  The  Napoleonic  tradition,  how- 
ever, proved  strong  enough  to  secure  for  him  a  substantial 
majority  of  the  votes  cast,  enabling  him  to  defeat  a  tested 
soldier  like  Cavaignac. 

On  the  ist  of  January,  1849,  he  was  inaugurated  as 
President  and  gave  his  oath  in  regular  course  to  support 
the  Constitution  and  to  maintain  the  Republic.  The 
obligation  so  assumed  was  observed  during  the  four  years 
of  the  presidency.  When,  however,  the  time  approached 
for  the  new  election  and  there  was  good  ground  for  doubt 
as  to  his  securing  (even  with  the  privilege  of  counting  the 
votes)  the  necessary  majority,  such  trifles  as  the  Con- 
stitution or  the  oath  to  maintain  the  Republic  were  not 
allowed  to  stand  in  Napoleon's  way.  The  essential  thing 
was  that  he  and  the  conspirators  associated  with  him  (the 
most  capable  of  whom  was  probably  the  Due  de  Morny) 
should  continue  to  control  the  government,  and  above  all 
the  treasury,  of  France.  This  result  was  accomplished  by 
the  coup  d'etat  of  December,  1851,  and  the  young  man  who 
was  (at  least  by  tradition)  the  son  of  Louis  Napoleon  and 
the  nephew  of  Napoleon  the  First  began,  as  Napoleon  the 
Third,  the  reign  that  was  to  continue  for  eighteen  years. 

This,  however,  as  Kipling  would  say,  is  another  story, 
and  had  nothing  to  do  with  my  father's  sojourn  in  London. 
My  father  was  in  Paris  more  than  once,  not  during  the 
years  of  the  presidency,  but  later  under  the  Empire,  but 
he  seems  never  to  have  tried  the  experiment  of  recalling 
his  old-time  relations  with  Louis  Napoleon. 

A  few  of  the  letters  from  the  correspondents  of  these 
earlier  years  of  the  sojourn  in  London  have  been  preserved. 
John  O.  Sargent,  an  old  friend  in  New  York,  had  been 
best  man  at  the  wedding.  He  writes  from  time  to  time  to 
my  father  of  New  York  literary  gossip,  and  with  sugges- 
tions concerning  possible  publishing  undertakings.     He 


48  George  Palmer  Putnam 

asks  also  for  information  on  English  political  conditions, 
information  doubtless  required  for  his  editorial  work.  Mr. 
Sargent  himself  married  about  1849,  and  as  his  wife  had  a 
fortune  he  gave  up  journalism.  He  kept  up  his  inter- 
est in  literature,  however,  collected  a  large  library,  and 
gave  special  attention  to  securing  a  copy  of  every  edi- 
tion of  Horace  that  was  within  his  reach  and  within  the 
compass  of  his  purse.  He  himself  made  some  very  graceful 
translations  of  his  beloved  poet. 

In  1843,  I  find  the  first  letters  from  George  Sumner,  who 
remained  a  close  friend  of  my  father's  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  shortly  after  the  war,  I  think  in  1 869.    Mr. 
Sumner  was  a  brother  of  the  well-known  Senator  from 
Massachusetts.     George's  interests  were,  however,  literary 
rather  than  political.     He  was  a  journalist,  a  litterateur, 
a  bon-vivant,  a  joker.     He  was  as  genial  as  his  great  brother 
Charles  was  stern.     He  cared  little  for  causes,  for  the 
rights  of  man,  or  for  Anti-Slavery,  but  he  was  a  genial 
companion  and,  what  was  better,  a  loyal  friend.     Mrs. 
Lydia  H.  Sigourney,  whose  name  in  the  forties  occupied 
an  important  place  on  the  list  of  American  authors,  writes 
from  Hartford  in  November,  1843,  sending  (probably  for 
use  in  the  volume  on  American  Facts  to  be  mentioned 
later)  the  titles  of  twenty-eight  of  her  works.     She  men- 
tions that  some  of  these  had  been  reprinted  as  many  as 
fifteen  times.     William  Henry  Prescott  writes  from  Boston 
during  this  same  year  asking  for  certain  English  books  and 
adding  a  word  of  personal  cordial  greeting.     James  Kent, 
Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  writes  also  asking 
my  father  to  collect  for  him  books  under  certain  divisions 
of   law.     Kent's   Commentaries  on   American  Law  were 
published  a  year  or  two  later.     Horatio  Greenough,  the 
sculptor,  writes  from  Rome  and  later  from  Florence  in 
regard  to  his  statue  of  Washington.     It  appears  that  he 
hoped  to  secure  some  help  from  my  father  in  correspond- 


Life  in   London  49 

ence  with  the  members  of  Congress  and  other  authorities 
in  Washington. 

Theodore  Parker  writes  from  Boston  in  August  1844. 
He  also  wants  some  books.  He  refers  to  certain  of  father's 
old-time  friends  in  Boston  and  speaks  of  an  approaching 
visit  which  he  hopes  to  make  to  England.  He  was  at  this 
time  but  twenty-four  years  old.  His  active  work  as  a 
preacher  came  ten  years  or  more  later.  George  P.  Marsh 
writes  in  July  from  Burlington.  He  wanted  information 
concerning  certain  scientific  writers  in  England  with  whom 
my  father  was,  as  he  thought,  likely  to  come  into  relation. 
Mr.  Marsh  was  Minister  to  Italy  between  the  years  1861- 
65,  and  was  the  author  of  a  number  of  important  philo- 
logical works.  Horatio  Southgate  writes  from  Constan- 
tinople in  March  offering  for  publication  a  treatise  on  "  The 
Churches  of  the  Orient."  Mr.  Southgate  was  the  first 
and  only  Protestant-Episcopal  Bishop  at  Constantinople. 
He  was  consecrated  in  1844,  the  year  of  this  letter,  and 
remained  in  his  diocese  until  1850.  He  was  the  author  of 
several  books  having  to  do  with  Eastern  experiences. 

The  first  place  of  business  occupied  by  my  father  in 
London  for  the  transactions  of  Wiley  &  Putnam  was  in 
Paternoster  Row.  In  1844,  when  the  Paternoster  Row 
shop  was  given  up  for  quarters  in  Waterloo  Place  that 
appeared  to  be  more  convenient,  the  shop  was  taken  over 
by  Nicholas  Triibner,  who,  beginning  business  in  that 
year  on  his  own  account,  succeeded  in  organising  a  firm 
which  took  an  important  place  in  the  publishing  con- 
cerns of  Great  Britain.  The  Triibner  undertakings  were 
particularly  noteworthy  in  Oriental  literature  and  in  the 
departments  of  philology  and  philosophy.  The  under- 
takings of  Wiley  &  Putnam  were  principally  concerned 
with  the  export  of  British  books  and  periodicals.  Some 
business  was  done  in  selling  for  English  readers  American 
publications,  but  the  demand  for  these  grew  but  slowly. 


50  George  Palmer  Putnam 

I  should  not  complete  the  record  of  my  father's  sojourn 
in  London  without  a  fuller  word  concerning  the  volume, 
American  Facts,  which  was  written  and  published  by  him, 
and  which  may  be  considered  as  a  labour  of  love  or  of  public 
spirit  done  for  the  sake  of  the  repute  of  his  native  land. 

It  was  undoubtedly  the  case  in  the  early  forties  (as 
throughout  the  rest  of  the  century)  that  any  American 
sojourner  in  England  was  exposed  to  more  or  less  annoy- 
ance (according  to  the  irritability  of  his  temper)  on 
the  ground  of  the  ignorance  shown  even  by  intelligent 
Britons  in  regard  to  matters  relating  to  the  United  States. 
It  sometimes  seemed  as  if  the  readiness  to  arrive  at  sweep- 
ing conclusions  (and  usually  very  critical  conclusions) 
concerning  American  methods,  American  character,  and 
American  achievement,  was  in  direct  proportion  to  the 
absence  of  any  trustworthy  knowledge  concerning  things 
American.  Partly  with  the  praiseworthy  desire  of  cor- 
recting error,  often  as  a  matter  of  patriotic  self-defence, 
the  American  then,  as  in  later  years,  found  occasion  from 
time  to  time  to  make  corrections  of  absurd  statements,  to 
point  out  the  true  cause  for  this  or  that  action  on  the  part 
of  his  government  or  of  his  fellow-citizens,  or  to  specify 
with  some  measure  of  completeness  the  actual  results  se- 
cured by  the  Republic  of  the  West  during  the  half -century 
of  its  existence. 

My  father  finally  felt  himself  called  upon  to  put  into 
print  material  which  could  be  utilised  for  a  fuller  and  more 
comprehensive  reply  to  criticism  based  upon  inadequate 
information  than  was  usually  possible  for  an  American 
who  did  not  have  at  hand  the  statistics  concerning  the 
history  or  the  status  of  his  country.  He  therefore  wrote 
and  put  into  print,  in  1 845,  a  volume  of  300  pages,  entitled, 
American  Facts:  Notes  and  Statistics  Relating  to  the  Govern- 
ment, Resources,  Engagements,  Manufactures,  Commerce, 
Religion,  Education,  Literature,  Fine  Arts,  Manners,  and 


Life  in  London  51 

Customs  of  the  United  States  of  America.  The  volume 
contained  as  a  frontispiece  a  portrait  of  Washington, 
engraved  from  the  painting  by  Trumbull,  and  contained 
also  portraits  of  Edward  Everett  and  Fenimore  Cooper. 
These  two  latter  plates  were,  as  is  stated  in  a  note  in  the 
book,  transferred  from  ordinary  prints  "by  Darton's  new 
process  as  described  in  the  Art  Union"  The  volume 
further  included  a  map  giving  the  territory  of  the  Repub- 
lic— a  territory  which  did  not  yet  include  Texas,  New 
Mexico,  or  California,  and  in  which  the  organised  States 
numbered  twenty-seven.  It  presents  in  a  conveniently 
arranged  series  of  chapters  the  statistics  of  the  time 
as  to  the  extent  and  the  resources  of  the  Republic,  a 
description  of  the  Constitution  and  government,  both 
national  and  State,  an  explanation  of  its  religious  institu- 
tions and  its  educational  system,  a  brief  summary  of  its 
literature  and  achievements  in  the  fine  arts,  and  a  study  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  its  society.  The  appendix 
presents  the  Constitution,  the  chronological  table  of  chief 
events,  tables  showing  the  growth  of  population,  and 
further  tables  presenting  agricultural  and  manufacturing 
statistics,  records  of  exports  and  imports,  statistics  con- 
cerning the  State  debts,  the  record  of  the  railroads  and 
canals,  a  tabular  view  of  educational  institutions,  statis- 
tics of  fisheries,  etc.  The  scheme  was  certainly  promising 
in  itself  and  the  material  presented  must  have  been  of  no 
little  service,  not  only  to  Americans  looking  for  "ammu- 
nition," but  to  English  editors,  writers,  students,  or 
authors  really  desirous  of  securing  trustworthy  informa- 
tion concerning  their  American  cousins.  It  could  have 
been  by  no  means  an  easy  task  to  have  put  together  this 
material  at  so  great  a  distance  from  the  original  sources 
of  information.  When  the  book  was  first  announced, 
some  at  least  of  the  editorial  comments  upon  the  plan 
could  hardly  be  called  encouraging.     A  writer  in  one  of 


52  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  journals  (the  name  of  which  is  not  specified)  says 
pleasantly:  "We  have  had  quite  enough  both  of  their 
facts  and  of  their  fictions.  Bankruptcy  and  vulgarity  are 
the  only  facts  left  in  their  swindling  land  of  liberty."  An 
American  is  described  as  saying  in  regard  to  the  plan  of 
such  a  book:  "It  is  useless  to  expect  that  such  a  volume 
will  at  this  time  find  readers.  The  anti-American  feeling 
is  too  strong.  Our  former  best  friends  and  well-wishers 
are  now  the  most  bitter  against  us.  When  the  delinquents 
turn  the  tide  by  faithfully  bringing  up  the  arrears,  ful- 
filling their  engagements,  and  paying  their  debts,  some 
hints  and  facts  on  various  American  topics  might  be 
advantageous  to  both  parties."  When  the  book  itself 
appeared,  however,  it  secured,  at  least  from  the  more 
intelligent  reviewers,  a  very  satisfactory  reception,  and 
the  demand  for  it  outside  of  the  little  American  circle 
was  considerably  larger  than  its  author  had  anticipated. 
This  little  volume  was  the  first  attempt  of  the  kind. 
During  the  seventy  years  that  have  gone  by  since  its  pub- 
lication, the  work  attempted  in  it  of  giving  information 
to  our  transatlantic  cousins  has  been  continued  by  a  long 
scries  of  books,  some  of  which  were  much  more  compre- 
hensive and  scholarly  and  have,  therefore,  proved  of  more 
permanent  value.  There  is  no  legitimate  excuse  at  this 
time  for  any  intelligent  Englishman  to  remain  in  ignorance 
of  the  history  or  of  the  political  or  social  conditions  of  the 
United  States.  The  task  undertaken  by  my  father  was, 
however,  most  important,  particularly  at  this  period 
when  very  natural  prejudices  had  been  excited  by  the  bad 
behaviour  of  Pennsylvania  and  Mississippi  to  their  cred- 
itors on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

One  of  the  more  important  divisions  of  the  book,  that 
relating  to  the  reprints  in  the  United  States  of  English 
books,  has  already  been  referred  to.  My  father's  rela- 
tions to  the  old-time  issues  connected  with  the  lack  of  a 


International  "Piracies"  53 

satisfactory  protection  for  authors  on  either  side  of  the 
Atlantic  will  be  described  later. 

One  of  the  most  bitter  of  the  English  criticisms  of  the 
time,  a  criticism  which  unfortunately  did  have  adequate 
cause,  was  directed  against  the  American  practice  of 
appropriating,  without  arrangement  or  permission,  and 
most  frequently  also  without  compensation,  the  produc- 
tions of  English  authors.  My  father  was  from  the  outset, 
as  before  stated,  strongly  opposed  to  this  practice,  and 
he  had  insisted  from  a  very  early  date  that  it  ought  to 
prove  practicable  to  arrive  at  some  international  system 
or  arrangement  for  the  protection  of  literary  property. 
He  had,  therefore,  no  word  of  defence  for  the  American 
publishing  "piracies."  In  his  volume  on  American  Facts 
he  was,  however,  able  to  make  clear  that  the  wrong  was 
not  limited  to  one  side  of  the  Atlantic.  It  was  possible, 
even  as  early  as  1846,  to  present  very  considerable  lists  of 
American  works  which  had  been  issued  in  unauthorised 
English  editions  and  from  the  sale  of  which  the  authors 
derived  no  compensation.  The  list  included  a  number  of 
instances  in  which  the  titles  of  the  American  books  had 
been  altered,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  glossing  over  the 
appropriation  and  partly  possibly  in  order  to  give  to  the 
British  readers  the  impression  that  the  English  edition  was 
the  original  issue.  In  other  cases,  the  text  had  been 
mutilated  or  garbled  and  conclusions  or  morals  had  been 
appended  by  English  writers  which  were  better  suited  than 
the  original  endings  may  have  been  to  the  prejudices  of 
English  readers. 

An  inspection  of  these  early  English  "piracies"  gives 
the  impression  that  the  British  publishers  of  the  day 
appropriated  from  American  literature  all  that  for  their 
purpose  was  worth  taking.  The  American  appropria- 
tions were  naturally  much  more  considerable,  but  as  far 
as  willingness  or  concern  to  enter  upon  piracies  whenever 


54  George  Palmer  Putnam 

piracies  might  be  made  profitable,  there  was  evidently  not 
much  to  choose  between  the  piratical  printers  on  either 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  British  "  reprinters"  were  able, 
however,  to  plead  in  extenuation  of  their  practices  that 
their  government  was  from  the  outset  ready  to  enter  into 
a  copyright  arrangement,  and  that  for  the  delay  in  such 
arrangement,  the  Americans  were  responsible. 

Schedule  of  American  books  reprinted  in  England  during 
the  preceding  five  years,  as  abstracted  by  G.  P.  P.  in  1846. 

American  Books  Reprinted  in  England. 

Theology 68  works.  History 22  works. 

Fiction 66       "  Poetry 12 

Juvenile 56       "  Metaphysics 11       " 

Travels 52       "  Philology 10      " 

Education 41       "  Science 9      " 

Biography 26       "  Law 9 

These  lists  of  British  reprints  might  have  been  used  as 
a  convenient  answer  to  the  query  quoted  from  Sydney 
Smith,  "Who  reads  an  American  book?"  The  volume 
of  American  Facts,  while  printed  for  " missionary "  or 
"educational"  purposes,  seems  to  have  met  with  some 
measure  of  public  interest  and  demand,  as,  in  the  course 
of  the  next  three  or  four  years,  no  less  than  three  editions 
were  called  for. 

Another  of  the  grounds  for  British  criticism  of  American 
methods  was  (like  that  of  the  piratical  reprints)  not  capable 
of  being  defended.  One  or  two  American  States  whose 
bonds  had  been  sold  in  Europe  had  failed  to  make  pro- 
vision for  the  payment  of  the  interest,  and  had  later,  in  a 
portion  of  the  cases,  repudiated  responsibility  for  the 
principal.  Among  the  States  which  had  thus  disgraced 
themselves  were  Mississippi  and  Pennsylvania.  I  think 
that  later  Minnesota  was  added  to  the  list.     The  bonds 


Life  in  London  55 

upon  which  Mississippi  made  default  were  never  made 
good.  Those  of  Pennsylvania  were  later  taken  up  by  the 
State  and  payment  was  made  of  the  arrears  of  interest. 
It  was  Sydney  Smith  who,  owning  some  Pennsylvania 
bonds,  gave  public  expression  more  than  once  to  his  indig- 
nation at  the  lack  of  honour  among  the  Yankees,  and  on 
one  occasion,  in  a  circle  which  was  partly  ecclesiastical  and 
which  included  some  American  guests,  took  occasion,  in 
referring  to  Pennsylvania,  to  quote  St.  Paul:  "Would  that 
ye  were  even  as  I  am  excepting  as  to  these  bonds." 

The  following  letter  from  Jared  Sparks  is  to  be  connec- 
ted with  my  father's  labours  in  collecting  information  for 
riis  American  Facts.  With  this  I  include  one  from  George 
Sumner,  who  expresses  himself  as  warmly  interested  in 
the  plan  of  the  volume. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  May  13,  1843. 
Geo.  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  15th  of  April,  and  also 
the  pamphlet,  for  which  I  beg  you  will  accept  my  thanks. 
Your  prefatory  remarks  are  of  great  value,  and  they  cannot 
fail  to  correct,  in  some  degree  at  least,  the  false  and  absurd 
impressions,  respecting  the  Unites  States,  which  prevail  in 
England.  Mr.  Alison's  ignorance  is  as  astonishing  as  his 
temerity  is  unexampled,  in  attempting  to  write  historically 
of  a  country  with  the  first  elements  of  whose  history  he  seems 
so  totally  unacquainted.  Such  gross  and  unpardonable 
blunders  throw  a  shade  of  discredit  over  his  whole  work. 

Your  estimate  of  the  sale  of  Washington's  Writings  falls 
considerably  short  of  the  mark.  The  actual  sale  has  been  as 
follows : 

Writings  in  12  volumes, — 2500  copies. 

Life.     8  volumes  sold  separately — 7000  copies. 

Abridged  Life,  2  volumes,  12  mo.     2000  copies. 

The  sale  is  still  going  on  with  considerable  rapidity.  The 
American  Biography  (10  vols.  12  mo.)  has  been  very  successful. 


56  George  Palfner  Pvitnam 

The  first  edition  was  2000  copies, — Life  of  Arnold,  3000.  The 
stereotype  plates  have  since  gone  into  the  hands  of  the  Harpers, 
who  diffuse  the  work  far  and  wide. 

Prescott  and  Bancroft  publish  what  are  called  "editions," 
500  each.  They  think  there  is  some  advantage  in  it,  although 
where  there  are  stereotype  plates,  one  can  hardly  see  the  pro- 
priety of  calling  each  impression  a  new  edition.  By  this  plan 
the  Writings  of  Washington  would  have  gone  through  13 
editions  and  the  Life  14  editions.  I  have  never  adopted  this 
mode.  More  copies  of  Webster's  Spelling-book  have  probably 
been  printed  than  of  any  other  American  book.  Many  years 
ago,  the  author  said  in  the  preface  that  two  and  a  half  millions 
had  been  printed;  and  the  number  has  probably  doubled  since, 
making  the  whole  number  not  less  than  five  millions.  I  would 
not  state  this  as  an  authentic  estimate,  but  I  am  inclined  to 
think  it  within  the  actual  amount.  The  number  of  school- 
books  published  annually  is  prodigious;  and  of  this  class  of 
books  there  are  very  few  English  reprints.  .  .  . 

I  am,  with  great  regard, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

Jared  Sparks. 

Friday,  1843. 
[Probably  written  from  Paris  in  June.] 

My  dear  Putnam: 

.  .  .  I  applaud  with  all  my  heart  your  scheme  for  the  volume, 
but  I  doubt  whether  it  will  soon  appear,  if  it  be  made  to  depend 
on  the  Philadelphia  bond  payments.  Poor  Smith  [Sydney] 
has  gone.  "After  life's  fitful  fever  he  sleeps  at  rest."  He 
will  put  no  more  spurs  in  the  side  of  restive,  high  mettled 
repudiators.  The  volume  will  be  good;  but  for  the  Review, 
I  should  almost  fear  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  keep  it  going. 
An  intellectual  spasm  would  occasionally  no  doubt  occur,  a 
few  flashes  would  be  and  then — darkness  visible.  You  are 
far  better  able,  however,  than  I  am  to  judge  of  this.  Everett 
would,  I  think,  unbend  a  little  in  order  to  give  you  hints  that 
would  be  useful,  in  case  you  are  determined  to  go  on. 

As  to  the  "Facts," — one  very  material  one  is  this.     The 


Life  in  London  57 

annual  appropriation  in  England  for  Public  Instruction  is 
£25,000  or  £30,000,  I  forget  which  of  the  two,  but  that  you 
will  easily  determine.  The  annual  appropriation  of  the  Town 
of  Boston  for  Public  Instruction  is  $180,000.  Put  that  and 
that  together,  and  it  makes  according  to  my  arithmetic,  a 
town  of  90,000  population  do  more  than  a  nation,  not  the 
most  modest  in  its  pretensions.  Ireland,  you  know,  has  its 
school  system  apart,  as  has  also  Scotland,  so  that  it  is  for 
England  that  this  sum  is  devoted. 

Another. — In  Cushing's  treaty  with  the  Chinese  (of  which 
I  have  only  seen  the  French  translation)  there  is  a  clause  which 
says  that  ' '  American  citizens  shall  at  all  times  have  permission 
to  hold  free  intercourse  with  the  learned  men  of  China,  to 
study  their  language  and  literature,  to  purchase  books  and 
MSS.  upon  all  arts  and  sciences,  and  to  gather  up  wisdom 
from  its  Chinese  storehouses," — or  words  to  that  effect,  as 
the  witnesses  say.  Now,  in  the  English  treaty,  I  don't  re- 
member to  have  seen  any  such  claims  as  this.  That  you  can 
settle  thoroughly,  for  both  will  be  accessible  in  London. 
There  is  a  Commerce!  exclaimed  a  Frenchman  on  reading 
Cushing's  treaty,  very  different  from  that  of  opium  and 
Manchester.  .  .  . 

Ever  faithfully  yours, 

George  Sumner. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Hon.  George  S.  Hillard 
of  Boston  is  fairly  representative  of  a  long  series  of  ap- 
preciative comments  on  the  little  volume: 

Boston,  May  1,  1845. 
George  P.  Putnam,  Esq., 
My  dear  Sir: 

.  .  .  Mr.  Sumner  has  received  a  copy  of  your  American 
Facts,  but  I  had  only  time  to  glance  at  it,  as  one  of  our  neigh- 
bours immediately  borrowed  it.  It  struck  me  as  being  an 
excellent  book,  compiled  with  great  industry  and  written  in 
a  true  and  manly  spirit.  I  shall  read  it  attentively  and  will 
write  you  more  upon  the  subject,  and  will  also  commend  it 


58  George  Palmer  Putnam 

to  our  own  countrymen.  You  have  earned  a  title  to  our 
gratitude  by  your  manly  and  spirited  defence  of  us,  and,  God 
knows,  we  have  need  of  defenders.  I  notice  that  you  have 
fallen  into  an  error  in  regard  to  Mr.  Prescott's  age.  He  is 
not  on  "the  sunny  side  of  thirty-five"  but  about  forty-eight, 
though  his  very  youthful  appearance  would  fortify  your 
statement. 

Yours,  George  S.  Hillard. 

During  the  years  between  1840  and  1850,  although 
regular  lines  of  steamers  were  already  traversing  the  North 
Atlantic,  a  very  consideiable  portion  of  the  traffic,  not 
only  for  freight  but  also  for  passengers,  continued  to 
depend  upon  the  sailing  vessels.  The  Savannah  had 
crossed  the  Atlantic  from  New  York  to  Liverpool  as  early 
as  1818,  making  the  passage  (using  both  steam  and  sails) 
in  twenty-six  days.  The  first  steamers  making  schedule 
trips  were,  however,  the  Sirins  and  the  Great  Western. 
The  line  was  known  as  the  Great  Western  Steamship 
Company,  and  its  operations  began  in  1838.  The  charges 
for  passengers  on  these  earlier  steamships  were  of  necessity 
heavy,  and  it  was  a  number  of  years  before  passengers 
became  sufficiently  accustomed  to  the  idea  of  trusting 
themselves  on  the  Atlantic  with  steam-engines,  so  that, 
even  apart  from  the  question  of  expense,  the  more  con- 
servative travellers  continued  to  give  their  preference  to 
the  packet  vessels.  Of  these  there  were  in  the  years  back 
of  1850  several  famous  and  well-appointed  lines,  such  as 
the  "Black  Star,"  the  "Black  Ball,"  and  others.  The 
owners  of  the  former  line,  Messrs.  Williams  and  Guion, 
organised,  later,  one  of  the  earlier  steamship  companies, 
known  as  the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  Company,  the 
flag  of  which  continued  to  carry  the  old  sign  of  a  black 
star.  The  line  came  afterwards  to  be  known  as  the  Guion 
Line,  and  its  operations  were  discontinued  in  1892,  after 
the  death  of  the  several  members  of  the  two  families  of 


Transatlantic  Travel  59 

Williams  and  of  Guion.  Mr.  Williams  was  an  old  friend 
of  my  father,  who  had  also  made  friends  among  the  old 
captains  of  the  Black  Star  packets  and  had  used  these 
packets  for  his  own  earlier  trips.  In  going  to  Liverpool  in 
1 841  with  my  mother,  he  had  sailed  in  the  Margaret  Evans, 
commanded  by  Captain  Tinker.  He  used  the  same 
vessel  (which  was  still  under  the  command  of  his  friend 
Tinker)  in  1847,  when  he  was  bringing  his  family  back 
to  the  United  States. 

He  had  occasion  during  his  seven  years'  sojourn  in 
London  to  make  various  trips  across  the  Atlantic,  and  he 
experimented  more  than  once  with  the  steamers.  He  told 
me  that  he  had  his  passage  engaged  for  the  Presidetit  at 
the  time  of  her  last  trip.  In  connection  with  some  busi- 
ness complications  he  was  obliged  to  forfeit  his  passage 
at  the  last  moment,  and  I  think  he  said  that  he  also  had 
to  sacrifice  some  portion  of  the  money  that  he  had  paid 
for  his  passage.  The  mischance  seemed  to  him  at  the 
time  a  serious  misfortune.  He  thought  differently  of  the 
matter  later  in  the  year,  when  all  hope  of  the  President's 
safe  arrival  was  finally  abandoned.  She  was  one  of  the 
first  of  the  rather  considerable  list  of  steamers  which,  hav- 
ing met  on  mid-ocean  with  some  overwhelming  disaster, 
left  neither  survivor  nor  remnants  to  show  what  had  been 
the  cause.  The  loss  of  the  President  and  later  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  Pacific,  the  City  of  Boston,  and  the  other 
steamers  recorded  as  "missing"  have,  as  a  rule,  been 
charged  to  the  account  of  the  icebergs. 

The  change  from  the  old-time  leisurely  method  of  cross- 
ing the  Atlantic  with  a  small  ship's  company,  a  company 
not  infrequently  made  up  in  the  main  of  people  of  similar 
social  standing  and  interest,  to  the  hurried  trips  in  com- 
pany with  five  or  six  hundred  fellow-passengers,  with 
whom  one  finds  little  in  common  and  with  whom  one  has 
in  fact  no  time  to  become  acquainted,  must  certainly 


60  George  Palmer   Putnam 

have  presented  very  many  sharp  contrasts.  The  com- 
parison recalls  the  first  lines  of  the  Sketch  Book  of  Irving 
in  which  he  says:  "To  the  traveller  about  to  visit  Europe 
the  long  voyage  is  an  excellent  preparative."  The 
length  of  these  "long  voyages"  was  from  thirty  to  sixty 
days,  the  average  being  about  forty  days.  The  vessels 
were  well  appointed,  the  staterooms  being  usually  larger 
than  those  obtainable  in  the  big  steamers  of  to-day.  The 
food  was  excellent,  and  the  captain  presided  over  his  cabin 
table  as  if  his  twenty-five,  thirty,  or,  at  the  most,  forty, 
passengers  were  his  personal  guests.  The  whole  experi- 
ence was,  in  fact,  rather  like  sojourning  in  a  well-arranged 
househo'd,  with  a  pleasant  selection  of  fellow-guests  with 
whom  one  had  full  time  to  form  social  relations.  A  very 
different  matter  is  the  six  or  seven  days'  trip  of  to-day 
in  a  floating  hotel,  in  company  with  from  five  hundred 
to  a  thousand  fellow-passengers,  of  whom  one  has  hasty 
glimpses  or  with  whom  one  may  come  to  exchange  a  few 
words  on  the  last  days  of  the  trip. 

There  were  also,  of  course,  considerations  the  other  way ; 
head  winds  or  a  calm  meant  a  journey  indefinitely  pro- 
longed, and  seventy  years  ago,  as  to-day,  unexpected  delays 
involved  not  a  few  anxieties,  both  business  and  domestic. 
The  trips  in  stormy  weather  and  particularly  in  the  winter 
season,  when  the  hatches  had  to  be  closely  battened  down 
and  the  passengers  were  confined  to  cabins  with  closed 
ports  and  without  any  of  the  present  means  of  ventilation, 
also  meant  serious  discomforts.  In  fact,  a  winter  trip 
must,  for  many  people,  have  constituted  a  real  hardship. 
I  recall  in  this  connection  the  vivid  description  given  by 
Fenimore  Cooper  in  his  Homeward  Bound  of  the  trip  on  a 
London  packet,  and  some  of  the  incidental  risks  belonging 
to  the  journey  by  sail  across  the  Atlantic.  The  vessel  in 
( /OOper's  story  (I  have  for  the  moment  forgotten  her  name) 
having  been  blown  southward  and  far  out  of  her  course, 


Life  in  London  6l 

was  wrecked  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  and  the 
passengers  narrowly  escaped  being  carried  off  as  slaves 
by  the  coast  Arabs.  Some  exceptional  pluck  and  good 
fortune  rescued  both  the  passengers  and  the  ship  and 
she  finally  arrived  at  New  York  only  five  or  six  weeks 
later  than  her  expected  time,  and  before  those  who  were 
awaiting  her  had  begun  to  be  very  seriously  anxious. 

During  my  father's  stay  in  London,  Washington  Irving 
visited  England  once  or  twice,  but  Irving's  longer  English 
sojourn  had  been  made  some  years  earlier,  during  the 
thirties.  Irving  was  Minister  in  Madrid  during  the  years 
1844-48,  and  he  was  in  London  in  1845  on  a  visit  to  Mr. 
McLane,  at  that  time  American  Minister  at  the  Court  of 
St.  James.  My  father  had  met  Irving  before,  both  in  New 
York  and  in  London,  but  during  this  visit  of  1845  he  seems 
to  have  been  thrown  in  with  him  more  intimately  and 
began  the  closer  association  and  friendship  which  con- 
tinued until  Irving's  death  in  1859.  In  a  paper  written 
for  the  Atlantic  Monthly  in  November  of  i860  (reprinted 
in  this  volume),  my  father  gives  several  interesting  per- 
sonal reminiscences.  The  first  occasion  on  which  he  met 
Irving  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  was  at  one  of  the 
annual  dinners  of  the  Literary  Fund,  held  on  the  nth  of 
May,  1842,  which  was  presided  over  by  Prince  Albert, 
only  recently  married.  This  was  the  first  appearance  of 
Albert  in  his  role  as  president  of  the  society. 

The  paper  goes  on  to  say  that  "the  Prince's  three 
speeches  were  more  than  respectable  even  for  a  Prince; 
they  were  a  positive  success."  At  the  same  dinner 
speeches  were  made  by  Hallam  and  Lord  Mahon ;  Camp- 
bell and  Moore  for  the  poets,  Talfourd  for  the  dramatists 
and  the  Bar,  Murchison  for  the  scientists,  Bunsen  and 
Brunow  for  the  diplomatists,  James  for  the  novelists, 
the  Bishop  of  Gloucester  for  the  Church,  and  Gaily  Knight 
for  the  antiquarians.     Edward  Everett  was  present  as  an 


62  George  Palmer  Putnam 

American  Minister,  and  Irving  (then  on  his  way  to  Mad- 
rid), represented  the  American  authors.  Most  of  the 
speeches  were  animated,  and  when  "Washington  Irving 
and  American  literature"  was  given  by  the  toastmaster, 
the  cheering  was  hearty  and  cordial,  and  the  interest  and 
curiosity  to  see  and  hear  Geoffrey  Crayon  seemed  to  be 
intense.  If  his  speech  had  been  proportioned  to  the  cheers 
which  greeted  him,  it  would  have  been  the  longest  of  the 
evening.  When,  therefore,  he  simply  said,  in  his  modest, 
beseeching  manner,  "I  beg  to  return  you  my  very  sincere 
thanks,"  his  brevity  seemed  almost  ungracious  to  those 
who  did  not  know  that  it  was  physically  impossible  for 
Irving  to  make  a  speech.  My  father  goes  on  to  say  that 
he  and  Irving  left  the  dinner  in  company  and  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  rescuing  in  the  hat-room  "little  Tom  Moore," 
who,  as  the  smallest  man  in  the  crowd,  had  found  himself 
in  difficulties.  It  was  raining  as  the  three  came  out  into 
the  street.  They  were  without  umbrellas  and  cabs  were 
scarce,  and  their  plight  was  becoming  serious  when  a  man, 
described  as  a  common  cad,  ran  up  to  the  group  and  said, 
"Shall  I  get  you  a  cab,  Misther  Moore?  Shure,  ain't  I 
the  man  that  patronises  your  melodies?"  The  man  was 
successful  in  his  quest,  and  while  putting  them  into  the 
cab  and  accepting  (rather  as  a  favour)  the  douceur  that  was 
given  him,  he  said  in  a  confidential  undertone  to  the  poet, 
"Now,  mind,  whenever  you  want  a  cab,  Misther  Moore, 
just  call  for  Tim  Flaherty  and  I  'm  your  man."  "Now, 
this,"  said  my  father,  "  I  caMfame  and  of  a  somewhat  more 
agreeable  kind  than  that  of  Dante  whom  the  passers-by 
in  the  street  found  out  by  the  marks  of  hell-fire  on  his 
beard." 

During  living's  visit  to  London  in  1845,  he  was  my 

ir's  guest  more  than  once  at  Knickerbocker  Cottage. 

He  refers  to  one  gathering  which  included  in  addition  to 

Irving,  Dr.  Reattie,  the  friend  and  biographer  of  Camp- 


Life  in  London  63 

bell;  Samuel  Carter  Hall,  who  was  then  editor  of  the  Art 
Journal;  and  William  Howitt. 

My  father  found  time,  while  carrying  on  his  publishing 
and  bookselling  undertakings,  to  write  letters  to  one  or  two 
of  the  New  York  journals  in  regard  to  London  literary, 
social,  and  political  occurrences.  Correspondence  of  this 
kind  was  more  interesting  and  presented  more  distinctive 
information  in  1841  than  would  be  the  case  to-day.  But 
few  English  journals  were  circulated  or  read  in  the  United 
States,  and  but  very  few  American  journals  indulged  in 
the  luxury  of  foreign  correspondents.  The  description 
given  by  Dickens  in  his  American  Notes  (written  about 
1846)  of  the  interview  with  the  foreign  correspondent  of 
the  New  York  Blusterer,  whose  letters,  dated  from  vari- 
ous points  in  Europe,  were  written  in  Ann  Street,  had, 
doubtless,  sufficient  foundation  in  the  facts. 

The  earlier  letters  of  my  father  were  addressed  to  the 
New  World,  a  paper  which  finished  its  career,  I  believe, 
about  1 844.  The  letter  of  May  1 ,  1 841 ,  begins  as  follows : 
"The  steamer  President  is  still  missing  and  nearly  all  hope 
of  her  safety  is  now  extinguished.  ...  It  is  possible  that 
she  may  still  be  afloat,  but  as  it  is  now  fifty  days  since  her 
sailing,  there  is  little  reasonable  probability  that  she  will 
again  be  heard  of."  My  father  goes  on  to  say  that  he  had 
himself  been  a  passenger  on  the  President  on  her  previous 
trip  to  New  York,  in  which  trip  the  seagoing  quality  of 
the  vessel  had  been  tested  by  a  severe  gale  of  ten  days. 
He  speaks  with  affectionate  remembrance  of  the  captain 
(Roberts)  as  a  capable  seaman  and  an  attractive  host. 

In  the  same  letter  he  makes  reference  to  the  arrival 
in  Liverpool  of  the  British  Queen  with  the  news  of  the 
death  of  President  Harrison.  He  says:  "Some  of  the 
papers  are  speculating  upon  the  probable  consequences, 
and  think  it  possible  that  the  amicable  arrangements  with 
England  which  had  been  intended  by  the  late  President 


64  George  Palmer  Putnam 

arc  not  likely  to  be  carried  out  or  may  at  least  be  impeded." 
The  Times,  with  its  usual  malignity,  throws  out  all  kinds 
of  dark  hints  that  democratic  pride  may  not  quietly  sub- 
mit to  what  is  so  much  like  hereditary  succession.  "What 
landers  make  of  themselves."  This  comment 
on  the  obtuse  imaginings  of  the  Times  might  have  been 
repeated  more  than  once,  particularly  for  instance  in  1861. 

The  Ni  w  World  was  edited  by  Mr.  Park  Benjamin,  who 
had  also,  I  think,  been  responsible  for  its  coming  into 
existence,  although  it  is  probable  that  he  had  secured  the 
backing  of  some  capitalist.  Benjamin  was  a  typical 
American  in  enterprise,  persistent  courage,  and  elasticity. 
He  had  to  do  with  many  undertakings,  some  of  which 
appeared  to  promise  great  results,  but  something  was 
always  wanting,  and  he  never  secured  an  abiding  success. 

He  left  a  group  of  energetic  sons,  for  one  of  whom,  Park 
Benjamin  the  second,  the  sons  of  G.  P.  Putnam  published 
(in  1900)  a  History  of  the  United  States  Naval  Academy,  of 
which  Academy  the  author  is  himself  a  graduate.  The 
following  letter  from  the  editor  of  the  New  World  will  give 
an  indication  of  the  nature  of  the  service  he  was  asking 
from  his  London  correspondent. 

New  York,  April  10,  1841. 
My  dear  Putnam: 

I  wrote  by  the  British  Queen  that  I  should  make  to  you  a 
further  remittance  of  £10,  by  the  Boston  steam  packet.  It 
is  herewith  inclosed. 

I  hope  you  have  arranged  with  Curry  &  Co.  for  the  early 
sheets  of  Charles  O'Malley,  commencing  with  the  June  No.; 
and  that  you  have  been  able  to  effect  some  arrangements 
about  Bar nab y  Rudge.  Roberts  of  the  Boston  Nation  tells 
me  that  he  has  succeeded  in  procuring  the  casts  of  some  ex- 
cellent wood-cuts  in  London.  I  hope  you  will  be  able  to  do 
something  of  the  kind  for  us.  Could  you  not  persuade 
Charles  Knight  to  let  you  have  casts  of  some  illustrations  of 


Life  in  London  65 

his  Shakespeare?  Their  publication  in  the  New  World  would, 
I  think,  sell  a  good  many  copies  of  the  book.  We  do  not 
intend  to  have  more  than  two  or  three  long  continued  stories 
in  the  New  World;  we  shall  hardly  begin  any  other  except 
Charles  0' Motley,  till  Ten  Thousand  a  Year  and  Barnaby  Rudge 
are  concluded.  Send  me  the  volumes  of  Moore  as  they  come 
out.  I  wish  them  for  a  friend.  I  have  time  I  hope  to  hear 
from  you  in  extenso  very  soon,  and  I  expect  great  things  from 
our  arrangement.  We  expect  the  Great  Western  on  Sunday. 
I  am,  dear  Putnam, 

Faithfully  yours, 

Park  Benjamin. 

In  May,  1841,  my  father  is  commenting  upon  the  defeat 
of  the  Ministers  on  the  Irish  Registration  of  Voters  Bill, 
the  result  of  which  was  expected  to  be  the  resignation  of 
Lord  Melbourne.  Lord  John  Russell  undertakes  the 
defence  of  the  Ministry  (which  is  hoping  to  hold  office  for 
another  year)  by  serving  notice  upon  the  expectant  Tories 
of  a  motion  for  considering  the  duties  on  corn,  that  is  to 
say,  for  making  a  Cabinet  question  of  the  abolition  of  the 
corn  laws.  (It  will  be  remembered  that  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
act  reducing,  and  finally  cancelling,  the  duties  on  corn  was 
passed  in  1846  and  went  into  effect  in  1849.)  The  same 
letter  makes  reference  to  an  article  in  Fraser's  Monthly, 
headed  "War  with  America  a  Blessing  to  Mankind." 
The  writer  proposed  to  stir  up  the  slaves  of  the  Southern 
States  by  an  invasion  of  fifteen  hundred  Jamaica  negroes 
supported  by  a  single  British  battalion.  The  result  was 
expected  to  be  an  upturning  throughout  the  Southern 
States,  followed  by  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  and  the 
raising  of  the  British  flag  on  the  Capitol. 

The  literary  comments  of  the  week  are  devoted  to 
Campbell's  Life  of  Petrarch,  the  Memoirs  of  the  Late  L.  E.  L 
(Letitia  E.  Landon),  and  Dana's  Two  Years  before  the 
Mast.     Of   this   last,  the   authorised   edition  had   been 


66  George  Palmer  Putnam 

published  by  Moxon,  but  a  piracy  edition  had  been  issued 
in  Fleet  Street  which  had  secured  a  large  sale. 

In  the  letter  of  the  following  week  the  arrival  of  the 
Great  Western  is  announced,  after  a  trip  of  thirteen  days. 
She  is  described  as  "as  regular  as  clock-work."  In  the 
letter  of  May  25th,  there  is  further  reference  to  the  pre- 
liminary' fighting  over  the  corn  laws  and  sugar  duties  with 
quotations  from  speeches  by  Mr.  Villiers,  giving  frightful 
statistics  of  pauperism,  suffering,  and  crime.  A  case  is 
cited  of  an  action  brought  against  a  clergyman  of  the 
Established  Church  for  refusing  to  bury  a  child  because  it 
had  been  baptised  only  by  a  dissenting  minister.  The 
clergyman  was  suspended  for  three  months  and  had  to  pay 
the  cost  of  the  suit.  In  the  letter  of  June  3d,  my  father 
describes  the  procession  of  the  Chartists  to  the  House  of 
Commons,  bearing  a  petition  with  1,300,000  signatures. 
The  enormous  roll  was  received  by  Mr.  O'Connell  and 
Mr.  Duncombe,  who  managed  with  some  difficulty  to  roll 
it  into  the  awful  presence  of  the  "Speaker."  In  this 
year,  1841,  there  were,  as  my  father  reports,  2000  miles  of 
railway  in  operation  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  On 
Eton  Montem  day  (the  annual  festival  of  Eton  College), 
he  had  come  by  train  from  Slough  to  London  at  the  rate  of 
forty  miles  an  hour.  In  July,  1 841 ,  we  have  a  description 
of  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  and  of  the  new  election. 

The  great  struggle  is  on  the  corn  law  business  and  the  Whigs 
talk  of  "Anti-bread  tax,"  "Down  with  monopolies,"  "Free 
Trade  and  fewer  taxes,"  etc.  Large  and  small  loaves  of  bread 
and  blocks  of  sugar,  showing  the  effects  of  the  present  system 
and  of  the  proposed  changes,  are  carried  about  the  streets. 
Other  insignia  are  skeletons  of  cats  perched  on  poles  and  labelled 
"Peel  and  Starvation,"  and  yet  with  all  the  advantages  of 
such  apparently  popular  measures  as  the  Ministers  propose, 
they  can  scarcely  get  the  vote  of  the  tradesmen  and  mechanics, 
and  the  Tories  are  carrying  all  before  them.     ...  It  seems 


Life  in  London  67 

to  me  marvellous  [writes  my  father],  that  these  free  trade  and 
liberal  principles  should  not  he  supported  by  the  mass  of  the 
people,  however  steadily  the  Tories  may  oppose  them.  But 
really  the  people  of  England  are  very  thick-headed;  they 
don't  know  what  is  good  for  them.  .  .  .  There  is  little 
doubt  that  the  Tories  will  come  in  with  a  large  majority. 
Lord  Palmerston  himself  has  been  defeated  at  Liverpool. 

A  sentence  in  a  following  paragraph  reads  rather  curi- 
ously to-day  when  we  would  hardly  think  of  waiting  six- 
teen or  seventeen  days  to  learn  the  results  of  an  English 
election:  "I  shall  give  you  the  election  returns  up  to  the 
last  moment,  for  this  is  a  crisis  of  some  importance  to  the 
United  States  as  well  as  to  England." 

President  Tyler's  message  does  not  receive  much  praise 
from  the  London  papers.     The  Spectator  says : 

It  is  eminently  placid,  pacific,  and  practical  but  .  .  .  the 
surmise  will  suggest  itself  that  the  degeneracy  of  presidents 
which  was  deplored  in  the  days  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  has  not  been 
redeemed.  Martin  Van  Buren  had  determined  views  of  his 
own,  and  energy  to  battle  for  them;  John  Tyler  speaks,  not 
like  a  statesman  deferring  to  the  voice  of  a  nation  but  like  a 
servant  taking  his  orders.  The  race  of  Jeffersons  has  not  yet 
come  back. 

My  father's  letter  proceeds : 

I  note  a  paragraph  in  recent  journals  recording  the  receipt 
for  the  Treasury  of  the  Repeal  Association  of  thirty-five 
pounds  from  "friends  of  Ireland"  in  Lowell,  Massachusetts. 
...  In  the  House  of  Commons  some  discussion  has  taken 
place  concerning  a  newly  invented  war  engine  which  will,  it 
is  understood,  destroy  at  a  single  blow  an  entire  fortification 
or  a  whole  fleet  and  which  is  expected  to  put  an  end  to  war. 
Several  members  who  have  examined  the  invention  have 
testified  to  such  effect,  and  it  will  undoubtedly  be  purchased 
by  the  Government. 


68  George  Palmer  Putnam 

There  must  have  been  some  mistake  either  on  the  part 
of  the  examining  members  or  of  the  Government  or 
possibly  on  that  of  the  inventor.  As  far  as  putting  an  end 
to  war  is  concerned,  the  machine  has  evidently  not  worked 
effectively.  The  years  that  have  elapsed  since  this  dis- 
cussion in  the  House  of  Commons  have  witnessed  more 
wars  and  have  been  accompanied  by  more  continuous 
expenditures  in  preparing  for  war  than  any  half-century 
since  the  Peace  of  Westphalia. 

At  the  date  of  this  writing,  April,  1912,  the  States  of 
Europe  are  in  perplexity  over  the  ever-recurring  problems 
of  the  near  East,  the  so-called  Eastern  question.  In 
this  connection,  it  is  interesting  to  read  the  following  para- 
graph in  my  father's  letter  of  July  1 ,  1841 : 

The  Cretan  Christians  who  are  in  revolt  have  already  as- 
sumed the  title  of  a  Commonwealth.  The  excitement  among 
the  Christians  on  the  frontier  of  Turkey  is  encouraged  by  the 
Powers  that  desire  to  see  a  Christian  kingdom  on  this  side 
the  Balkans,  and  by  the  Hospodars  who  hope  to  make  Mol- 
davia, Wallachia,  Servia,  etc.,  into  a  kingdom. 

The  letter  of  July  19th  gives  the  final  report  of  the 
election  which  had  been  going  on  for  more  than  three 
weeks.  An  important  election  question  in  those  days 
was,  as  my  father  recalls,  who  could  afford  to  stand,  rather 
than  who  was  the  best  man  to  represent  the  constituency. 
The  cost  of  the  contested  elections  ranged  from  £5000  to 
£10,000.  A  Whig  handbill  in  London  read,  "Lord  John 
Russell,  Low  Wages,  and  Workhouses."  The  opposing 
handbill  of  the  Tories  was  worded,  "Ships,  Colonies,  and 
Commerce." 

The  Tory  majority  in  the  House  in  this  election  was 
eighty-one.  Further  reference  is  made  in  this  same  letter 
to  difficulties  in  the  Southeast  of  Europe,  and  a  report  is 
given  concerning  the  convention  which  had  been  signed 


Sydney  SmitH  69 

by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  Austria,  France,  Great  Britain, 
Prussia,  Russia,  and  Turkey  as  to  the  straits  of  the  Dar- 
danelles and  the  Bosphorus.  The  arrangement  closed 
the  two  straits,  as  long  as  Turkey  should  remain  at  peace, 
against  the  ships  of  war  of  foreign  nations,  and  it  reconciled 
all  differences  between  Turkey  and  France  on  the  Eastern 
question.  "The  peace  of  Europe  is  now  considered  as 
secure  for  the  present."  The  same  letter  contains  an 
extract  from  a  communication  to  the  Morning  Chronicle 
from  Sydney  Smith.  The  communication  is  one  of  a 
series  addressed  to  Lord  Stanley  (later  Lord  Derby  and 
Prime  Minister),  and  described  by  the  writer  as  contain- 
ing "cash,  corn,  and  other  matters."  Lord  Stanley  had, 
it  seems,  taken  the  ground  that  the  repeal  of  the  bread 
tax  (the  corn  laws)  would  necessitate  the  discharge  of 
his  grooms  and  the  curtailing  of  his  luxuries  generally. 
The  reverend  economist  makes  use  of  this  complaint  or 
admission  as  follows: 

If  then,  my  candid  Lord,  the  repeal  of  the  bread  tax  would 
discharge  your  grooms  and  circumscribe  your  luxuries,  it 
must  be  the  bread  tax  which  gives  you  the  indulgence  of  your 
present  superfluities.  It  is  the  bread  tax  that  stuffs  your 
wine-bins  and  keeps  the  butlers  who  draw  the  corks  and  the 
footmen  who  stand  behind  your  chair  as  Ganymedes,  when  the 
Jove  of  Lancashire  calls  for  his  corn-law  purchased  nectar. 
Out  of  your  own  mouth  you  stand  confessed,  as  both  principal 
and  accessory  in  public  robbery.  Not  in  the  form  of  contrite 
admission,  but  in  the  bold  and  impudent  swagger  of  brazen 
boast,  you  declare  that  the  taxes  keep  your  grooms,  the  half 
of  the  factory  child's  morsel  maintains  your  valet,  the  bloody 
sweat  of  over-laboured  toil  is  the  purchase  money  of  your  game 
preserves  and  pleasure  grounds,  while  the  sighs  of  widows  fill 
the  sails  of  the  gaudy  fleet  at  Cowes  and  the  tears  of  wronged 
orphans  lubricate  the  carriage  wheels  which  bear  you  to  the 
rendezvous  of  national  spoliation.     The  dews  of  heaven  will 


70  George  Palmer  Putnam 

ripen  the  harvest  of  your  fields,  whether  the  soiled  sheepskin 
on  which  the  corn  law  is  inscribed  be  preserved  or  cancelled. 
Not  a  single  acre  of  your  broad  lands  will  be  withdrawn  from 
space,  not  one  solitary  leaf  of  your  clustered  oaks  will  wither 
in  the  woods  as  a  result  of  the  act  which  will  obliterate  from 
the  statute  book  the  charter  of  National  Starvation.  If  it  be 
by  your  own  honest  gains  or  by  the  fairly  accumulated  means 
of  your  longly  descended  family  that  you  now  live,  not  in 
splendour  merely  but  in  magnificence,  the  repeal  of  the  corn 
laws,  which  will  neither  circumscribe  the  boundaries  of  your 
estate  nor  touch  your  iron  chest,  will  leave  you  and  them  as 
they  were. 

This  vigorous  sermon  against  the  assumption  on  the  part 
of  one  class  of  the  community,  and  that  the  smallest,  to 
have  taxes  so  ordered  that  the  advantage  would  come  to 
them  while  the  burdens  would  fall  upon  others,  may  very 
properly  be  recalled  at  this  time  in  the  United  States. 
Sixty-five  years  later,  the  Dingley  Tariff  Bill,  which 
out-McKinley's  McKinleyism,  placed  upon  the  dutiable 
schedule  articles  of  food,  from  grain  to  onions,  potatoes, 
and  eggs,  the  materials  for  the  poor  man's  clothing  (cordu- 
roy trousers,  for  instance,  at  the  rate  of  120  per  cent.) 
the  blankets  for  his  bed  (at  the  rate  of  60  per  cent.),  and 
the  lumber  from  which  is  to  be  built  the  house  in  which 
he  lives  and  the  coffin  required  for  his  use  after  death. 
The  world  doubtless  moves,  but  there  are  times  when  the 
movement  forward  seems  to  be  very  slow. 

In  the  letter  of  July  23d,  reference  is  made  to  the 
increasing  importance  of  the  "repeal  agitation,"  that  is,  of 
the  movement  for  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of  Union  between 
England  and  Ireland.  The  great  "agitator"  (Daniel 
O'Connell)  was  making  triumphal  progresses  through  the 
country  and  was  meeting  (and  as  far  as  practicable  speak- 
ing to)  great  assemblies  of  from  50,000  to  100,000  people. 
Transports  with  troops  and  ammunition  were  being  hur- 


Life  in  London  71 

ried  over  from  England  and  active  fighting  was  expected. 
The  Britannia,  a  rather  extreme  Tory  weekly,  called  upon 
the  Queen  to  make  proclamation  declaring  repeal  agita- 
tion to  be  high  treason.  The  writer  of  the  article  con- 
tended that  repeal  itself  was  but  the  first  step  in  the  long 
series  of  iconoclastic  abominations  that  the  Radicals  had 
in  plan,  and  that  it  doubtless  would  be  followed  by  the 
abolition  of  the  Established  Church,  the  vote  by  ballot, 
manhood  suffrage,  and  other  horrors.  It  is  curious  to 
note,  seventy-two  years  after  this  hysterical  utterance, 
while  the  repeal  of  the  Union  has  not  yet  been  brought 
about,  that  not  a  few  of  the  other  changes  dreaded  have 
taken  shape  in  legislation.  The  Irish  Church  has  been 
disestablished,  there  is  vote  by  ballot  both  in  Ireland  and 
in  Britain,  and  if  the  suffrage  is  not  yet  exercised  by  all 
able-bodied  citizens,  the  right  of  voting  has  been  extended 
to  classes  which  by  the  Tory  editor  of  1841  would  have 
been  considered  as  pestilential  Radicals.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  popular  suffrage  and  the  voting  by  ballot,  the 
British  Empire  still  lives. 

The  next  reference  in  the  letter  of  this  date  has  also 
some  present  interest.  It  is  a  citation  from  the  London 
papers  of  the  day  of  an  announcement  that  had  been 
printed  "without  comment"  to  the  effect  that  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  having  been  ceded  to  Great  Britain  on  the 
5th  of  February  last,  had  been  formally  taken  possession 
of  by  her  Majesty's  frigate  Amphitrite.  My  father  com- 
ments upon  this  announcement  with  more  heat  of  indig- 
nation than  would  have  been  used  could  he  have  realised 
that  more  than  half  a  century  later  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  would  be  arranging  for  the  annexation 
of  the  islands  without  any  objections  being  raised  on  the 
part  of  Great  Britain.     He  writes: 

Considering  that  the  independent  sovereignity  of  these 
islands  has  already  been  recognised  by  the  United  States  and 


-2  George  Palmer  Putnam 

that  the  diplomatic  agent  of  their  sovereign  is  at  this  moment 
negotiating  for  a  similar  recognition  by  the  states  of  Europe, 
this  dry  announcement  seems  rather  too  outrageous  or  too 
facetious  as  the  reader  may  interpret  it.  It  might  be  con- 
sidered as  a  fitting  climax  to  the  recent  conquest  of  Scinde. 
Sir  Robert  Peel  has,  however,  informed  Parliament  that  the 
paragraph  announcement  was  premature,  the  cession  not 
having  been  completed.  I  do  not  claim  to  be  an  authority 
in  diplomacy  or  in  the  laws  of  nations,  but  I  cannot  understand 
why  Great  Britain  has  any  more  right  to  these  islands  than 
the  United  States.  Will  our  Government  permit  this  new  act 
of  appropriation  on  the  part  of  the  Encircler  of  the  Earth  .J 

Under  the  same  date,  there  is  reference  to  certain  issues 
which  were  exciting  attention  in  the  theological  world. 
The  first  steps  were  being  taken  in  the  trials  which  later 
brought  about  the  schism  in  the  Scottish  Church  estab- 
lishment, while  at  the  other  end  of  the  island  the  earnest 
Church  of  England  people  were  not  a  little  troubled  at 
the  tendencies  towards  Romanism  shown  in  the  teachings 
of  Doctor  Pusey  and  his  immediate  associates.  A  sermon 
preached  by  the  Doctor  about  the  middle  of  June  was 
characterised  by  some  of  the  Church  papers  as  containing 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Romish  Church.  So 
great  was  the  outcry  that  the  spiritual  fathers  of  Oxford 
were  obliged  to  call  upon  the  preacher  for  a  copy  of  the 
sermon.  Pusey  was  at  this  time  Regius  Professor  of 
Hebrew  and  Canon  of  Christ  Church  (the  cathedral  of 
Oxford),  and  it  is  probable  that  the  sermon  in  question 
was  preached  in  the  cathedral  pulpit.  The  result  of  the 
examination  of  this  particular  sermon  was,  however,  not 
an  impeachment,  but  a  complete  vindication  of  Dr.  Pusey, 
because  he  was  able  to  show  to  the  Oxford  ecclesiastics 
chapter  and  verse  for  each  statement  in  his  sermon,  not 
in  the  Bible,  but  in  the  writings  of  St.  Cyprian.  As  the 
Bishop  of  Carthage  had  died  (or  had  been  killed)  as  early 


Sydney  SmitH  73 

as  258,  it  is  certainly  the  case  that  he  could  be  considered 
as,  in  some  measure  at  least,  one  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church  of  England.  It  is  also  true,  however,  that  certain 
Romish  doctrines  afterwards  repudiated  by  the  English 
Churchmen  could  undoubtedly  be  justified  by  the  teach- 
ings of  several  of  the  early  Fathers,  more  particularly, 
perhaps,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Augustine,  and  St.  Cyprian. 
While,  on  this  particular  occasion,  the  learned  Canon 
secured  an  acquittal,  later  in  the  same  year  he  was  sus- 
pended from  his  pastoral  functions  on  the  ground  of  a  ser- 
mon on  the  Eucharist  and  of  another  favouring  auricular 
confession. 

In  the  succeeding  letter,  quotations  are  made  from  cert- 
ain protests  that  became  historical,  submitted  by  the 
Rev.  Sydney  Smith  on  behalf  of  himself  and  other  holders 
of  American  State  bonds,  in  regard  to  the  repudiation 
action  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  My  father  speaks  of 
Sydney  Smith's  letters  as  being  needlessly  insulting  to  the 
Republic,  but  trusts  that  their  ultimate  effect  may  be 
useful.     He  goes  on  to  say: 

The  Canon  can  make  jokes  and  puns  on  most  subjects — - 
even  on  railway  explosions — but  now  he  is  in  earnest;  for  this 
is  an  explosion  which  affects  not  his  neck  but  his  pocket;  and, 
moreover,  it  is  so  utterly  disgraceful  to  Democracy  and  so 
completely  demonstrates  the  knavery  of  Republics,  that  this 
worthy  gentleman  is  at  last  obliged  to  abandon  what  little 
good  opinion  he  had  entertained  of  man's  capacity  for  self- 
government,  and  to  consign  all  the  boasted  benefits  of  liberty 
and  equality  to  the  same  perdition  which  has  swallowed  up 
the  moneys  he  was  so  foolish  as  to  loan  to  the  descendants  of 
William  Penn. 

In  April,  1844,  my  father  begins  a  correspondence  with 
the  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser.  I  have  the  impres- 
sion that  the  New  World  terminated  its  existence  with  the 


74  George  Palmer  Putnam 

beginning  of  1844.  Of  the  Commercial  Advertiser letters 
but  one  has  been  preserved.  The  number  in  which  this 
was  printed  bears  date  May  16,  1844,  and  carries  as  the 
heading  of  its  correspondence  column  the  Whig  nomina- 
tions which  had  just  been  completed:  For  President, 
Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky;  for  Vice-President,  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen,  of  New  Jersey.  The  letter  is  devoted  to 
the  question  of  the  default  on  the  interest  of  certain  State 
debts,  a  subject  which,  while  of  present  and  continued 
importance  to  all  citizens  of  the  Republic,  possessed  a 
special  interest  for  Americans  who  were  living  abroad  and 
who  felt  themselves  charged  with  the  duty  of  defending 
the  good  faith  of  their  country. 

Correspondence  of  the  New  York  "Commercial  Advertiser" 

London,  April  15,  1844. 

I  have  a  grievous  complaint  to  make  against  certain  fellow- 
citizens  in  our  beloved  land  of  liberty.  I  have  been  abused, 
vilified,  disgraced,  and  even  robbed — and  that  in  broad  day- 
light— and  by  those  who  ought  to  know  better.  You  shall 
hear  my  complaint — and  say  how  I  am  to  obtain  redress. 

For  certain  good  and  sufficient  motives  (which  I  consider 
not  only  innocent  but  in  some  respects  praiseworthy,  because 
as  you  know,  they  are  patriotic),  I  have  deemed  it  wise  and 
expedient  to  reside  temporarily  in  the  dominions  of  Queen 
Victoria.  I  will  admit  that  I  do  so,  primarily,  for  the  purpose  of 
buying  and  selling,  and  getting  gains,  though  that  is  nobody's 
business  but  my  own  so  long  as  my  gains  are  just  and  lawful. — 
I  might  show  perhaps  further  that,  from  the  nature  of  my 
vocations  here,  I  have  rather  peculiar  opportunities  of  rend- 
ering essential  service  to  my  countrymen  at  home — which, 
as  before  said,  would  be  praiseworthy  and  patriotic.  But 
let  that  pass; — I  am  content  to  be  set  down  simply  as  an 
American  trader,  visiting  Europe  for  commercial  purposes — 
to  make  money.  (I  intend  by  the  way  to  spend  the  money 
at  home,  provided  I  get  redress  for  my  grievances.) 

How  have  I  been  robbed?     Why  by  Pennsylvania — by  two 


Repudiation  75 

millions  of  freemen,  with  a  Legislature  and  a  Governor  at 
their  head.  By  the  State  of  Maryland — 500,000  robbers 
— with  similar  leaders.  I  have  suffered  by  other  bands  of 
robbers — but  to  them  I  would  have  submitted  more  tamely. 

None  of  these  literally  owes  me  a  farthing.  I  never  saw  the 
colour  of  their  bonds.  But  yet  they  have  robbed  me — I  say 
it  deliberately,  they  have  robbed  me  not  only  of  my  good 
name  as  an  American,  but  they  have  taken  money  from  my 
pockets.  They  have  wrongfully  and  shamefully  deprived  me 
of  my  just  gains  and  lawful  property,  and  in  common  justice, 
if  our  Constitution  is  good  for  anything,  it  ought  to  give  me, 
at  the  Bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  ample 
redress. 

Besides  taking  my  property,  by  injuring  my  business  repu- 
tation, the  people  of  these  States  have  injured  my  moral 
character  as  an  American;  they  have  subjected  me  most  un- 
justly to  mortification,  obloquy,  and  disgrace;  they  have  made 
the  very  name  of  American  (which  I  have  always  heretofore 
been  proud  to  acknowledge)  a  byword  of  reproach.  They 
have  subjected  me  and  hundreds  of  my  countrymen  to  the 
degradation  of  being  obliged  to  listen,  in  public  places,  to 
scoffs  and  jeers  against  ourselves  and  the  nation  to  which  we 
belong.  And  so  utterly  have  they  degraded  the  very  name 
of  American  that  not  a  day  passes  without  bringing  with  it 
some  new  cause  of  annoyance  and  mortification  to  myself 
and  to  other  Americans  in  Europe;  all  of  which  is  directly 
caused  by  their  want  of  good  faith,  of  integrity  and,  I  may  add, 
of  common  sense. 

If  these  annoyances  were  confined  to  England  they  might 
perhaps  be  ascribed  wholly  to  English  ignorance  and  male- 
volence, but  the  same  is  true  of  every  part  of  Europe. 

It  is  for  the  very  reason  that  there  is  yet  existing  in  England 
so  much  ignorance  of,  and  ill-will  toward,  the  United  States, 
that  I  feel  most  bitterly  against  my  repudiating  and  defaulting 
countrymen.  I  say  to  them  that  they  have  put  back  the 
course  of  rational  liberty  in  Europe  at  least  half  a  century. 
Even  the  bloody  horrors  of  the  French  revolution  scarcely  did 
more  to  crush  true  freedom  and  the  progress  of  republicanism 


76  George  Palmer  Putnam 

and  popular  government.  It  is  because  England  knows  yet 
comparatively  so  little  about  us,  and  is  so  little  able  to  ap- 
preciate the  progress  of  the  American  Republic,  that  these 
petty,  disgraceful  defalcations  are  specially  annoying  and  in- 
jurious at  this  time,  both  to  the  nation  and  to  individuals. 
Our  national  character  has  yet  to  be  established  before  the 
world.  We  are  yet  in  our  infancy  as  a  people;  if  the  infant 
begins  to  play  the  rogue,  what  sort  of  character  can  the  man 
expect  to  sustain? 

I  say  petty  defalcations — for  after  all  they  are  petty,  and 
more  's  the  pity  that  there  are  any.  How  small  a  tax  on  real 
property  would  pay  every  penny ! 

I  did  not  undertake  to  write  this  letter  as  an  attempt  at  a 
facetious  imitation  of  some  clerical  wit  that  has  been  uttered 
on  the  same  subject. •  I  consider  the  matter  as  calling  for  sober 
thought  and  immediate  earnest  action.  As  a  mere  item  in 
the  national  sum  total,  I  feel  that  I  have  a  right  to  state  my 
grievances,  and  I  would  do  so  in  the  simplest,  plainest  way. 
I  repeat  that  I  have  been  injured  and  my  property  has  been 
sacrificed  by  my  countrymen — and  if  my  country's  laws  will 
not  grant  me  redress,  where  is  our  boasted  liberty? — how  can 
we  say  that  our  Government  equally  protects  the  rights  of  all  ? 

It  is  very  certain  that  this  subject  has  not  been  treated  in 
the  United  States  with  the  consideration  which  it  deserves. 
The  press,  with  a  few  exceptions,  have  alluded  to  it  now  and 
then  in  a  namby-pamby  sort  of  style,  perhaps  not  quite  de- 
fending repudiation  but  yet  not  denouncing  it  in  the  earnest, 
solemn,  indignant  terms  which  the  occasion  demands.  I  am 
not  fond  of  abuse  or  hard  words — they  seldom  do  good  and 
often  much  harm.  But  I  do  think  that  every  individual  who 
is  entitled  to  call  himself  an  American  has  an  interest — a  deep 
interest — at  stake  in  this  question  and  has  a  right  to  remon- 
strate earnestly  against  a  single  day's  continuance  of  the  pre- 
sent state  of  tilings. 

I  consider  myself  as  good  an  American  as  any  of  them. 
My  ancestors  bled  at  Lexington  and  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  one 
of  them  was  a  "repudiator"  <•]"  British  tea  in  Boston  Harbour; 

•  A  r  i  Sydney  Smith's  letter  on  Pennsylvania. 


Repudiation  77 

but  never,  I  trust,  of  his  honest  debts.  I  yield  to  none  in 
warm-hearted  love  of  my  country.  I  have  done  what  little 
I  could  to  imagine  and  manufacture  excuses  for  Mississippi, 
for  Michigan,  and  for  Illinois.  But  when  a  late  packet  brought 
news  that  Maryland  remained  a  defaulter — that  the  Legis- 
lature of  one  of  the  "old  thirteen,"  the  State  which  has  Bal- 
timore for  its  commercial  capital,  had  again  adjourned  without 
taking  a  single  step  to  retrieve  her  character  from  disgrace, 
I  must  confess  to  a  feeling  of  despondency  and  alarm. 

As  an  American  in  business  here,  I  am  frequently  asked  by 
real  friends  of  the  United  States— "What  are  we  to  expect?" 
"Bad  news  again?"  "Yes — most  aggravatingly  bad — but 
they  will  all  pay  in  the  end;  be  but  patient."  I  have  held 
out  sturdily  in  the  best  defence  I  could  muster  of  these  as- 
sailable and  very  weak  points  in  the  present  state  of  American 
affairs — but  my  own  confidence,  I  must  own,  is  beginning  to 
waver — and  more  especially  when  I  see  pamphlets  published 
and  praised,  not  to  awaken  a  right  feeling  on  this  subject  but 
to  rake  up  palliations  and  excuses  for  the  defaulters. 

There  has  been  enough  of  this.  Would  that  you  could  ap- 
preciate at  home  the  feeling  existing  in  Europe  on  American 
affairs — I  repeat,  you  have  no  conception  of  the  depth  of 
degradation  which  the  American  name  has  suffered  here. 
Perhaps  some  Jeremy  Diddler  asks,  what  care  we  for  opinions 
in  Europe?     There  are  many  who  do  care  and  will  care  more. 

A  captain  in  the  English  navy  who  was  born  in  Virginia, 
married  in  Boston,  and  is  intimately  connected  with  the 
United  States  in  sympathy  and  attachment,  called  on  me  the 
day  after  the  receipt  of  the  last  news  from  Maryland.  He  is 
a  worthy  and  warm-hearted  friend  of  Americans,  as  many  a 
visitor  in  London  will  testify.  He  holds  the  stock  of  three 
defaulting  States,  but  fortunately  does  not,  like  thousands 
of  others,  depend  entirely  upon  these  funds.  He  brought 
several  officers  of  the  British  navy  to  look  at  the  maps  and 
works  of  American  art  in  my  office,  and  talked  with  enthusi- 
asm and  I  believe  with  real  pride  of  his  American  birth,  of  that 
"glorious  country,"  as  spread  out  in  little  on  one  of  Smith's 
splendid  maps. 


78  George  Palmer  Putnam 

When  his  friends  had  gone,  we  talked  of  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania;  and  I  fully  believed  him  when  he  said  that  he 
would  rather  have  lost  every  penny  of  his  own  claims,  than 
that  this  disgrace,  this  ignominy,  should  fall  upon  a  country 
he  was  otherwise  so  proud  of.  What  a  storehouse  for  sneers 
and  jibes  at  republicanism  have  the  Pennsylvanians — to  say 
nothing  of  Mississippi — built  up  for  the  use  of  English  Tories. 
What  humiliation  and  disgust  for  the  liberal  well-wishers  to 
the  United  States  and  free  institutions.  "But  they  have  not 
repudiated,"  say  you.  Then  let  them  tax  themselves,  put 
their  hands  in  their  pockets  and  pay.  When  they  have  paid 
every  farthing,  let  them  turn  round  and  berate  John  Bull  to 
their  hearts'  content.     But  let  them  pay  first. 

This  is  the  last  letter  in  the  series  written  during  my 
father's  residence  in  London  of  which  a  copy  has  been 
preserved  in  the  old  scrap-book.  He  continued  for  three 
years  longer  his  work  and  his  home  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  he  told  me  that  he  found  occasion  from 
month  to  month  to  make  up  reports  for  the  Commercial 
Advertiser  or  for  the  Evening  Post  of  English  and  Conti- 
nental matters  likely  to  prove  of  interest  to  his  fellow- 
citizens,  but  unfortunately  these  later  letters  were  not 
preserved.  The  sermon  to  the  dishonest  and  short-sighted 
repudiationists  certainly  contains  sound  doctrine  and  a 
vigorous  expression  of  the  best  Americanism.  We  may 
hope  that  it  had  its  share  of  influence  in  making  clear  to 
the  taxpayers  and  legislators,  at  least  of  the  two  Eastern 
delinquents,  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  not  only  the 
bad  ethics,  but  the  bad  business  policy  of  disregarding 
their  obligations.  It  is  certainly  the  case  that  these  two 
States  did  within  the  succeeding  few  years  make  good  to 
their  bondholders  the  interest  that  had  fallen  into  arrears. 
The  delayed  payments  cleared  their  record  to  a  certain 
extent,  but  could,  of  course,  not  repair  the  serious  injustice 
that  had  been  caused  to  the  more  timid  of  the  bondholders 


Repudiation  79 

(including  a  considerable  portion  of  those  in  England  and 
Holland)  who,  in  the  not  unnatural  dread  that  they  might 
lose  principal  as  well  as  interest,  had  sacrificed  their  bonds 
in  a  falling  market.  The  securities  of  Illinois  were  also 
redeemed  in  full  and  I  believe  that  this  was  the  case  with 
those  of  Michigan  and  Minnesota.  The  record  of  Mis- 
sissippi continued  consistently  bad.  The  default  on  the 
interest  was  finally  followed  first  by  a  ''refunding"  of  the 
principal  on  a  reduced  valuation  and  later  by  a  default 
on  the  refunded  bonds.  This  circumstance  had  an  unfav- 
ourable influence  on  the  financial  operations  in  Europe 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  of  which  Jefferson  Davis  of 
Mississippi  was  the  leading  spirit.  Davis  had  been  active 
in  the  government  of  his  State  at  the  time  of  this  first 
defalcation  and  later  had  occasion  to  make  a  defence  of  the 
"credit"  of  Mississippi  as  a  member,  first  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  later  of  the  Senate,  in  Washington. 
His  unsatisfactory  financial  theories  did  not  prevent,  how- 
ever, a  considerable  group  of  English  Tories  from  invest- 
ing in  the  cotton  bonds  of  the  Confederacy  which  bore 
Davis's  signature.  The  investors  have  had  time  since  to 
repent  of  their  unwise  optimism. 

The  following  notification  of  membership  in  the  Apollo 
Association  shows  that  my  father's  interest  in  the  fine  arts 
was  of  early  origin.  As  he  was  in  1842  (and  for  five  years 
thereafter)  still  a  resident  of  London,  his  service  as  sec- 
retary  of   a   New  York  society   must  have  been  very 

"honorary"  indeed. 

1842. 

George  P.  Putnam,  of  London, 

in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
appointed  an  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Apollo  Association 
for  the  promotion  of  the  Fine  Arts  in  the  United  States. 

(Signed),     Daniel  Stanton,  Prest. 
John  P.  Ridner,  Secy. 

New  York,  August  5,  1842. 


80  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Prof.  Benjamin  Silliman  (Benjamin  the  first)  writes  in 
July,  1843,  in  cordial  sympathy  with  my  father's  efforts  to 
arouse  public  opinion  in  the  United  States  in  regard  to  the 
reputation  of  the  nation  as  affected  by  the  bad  financial 
conduct  of  certain  of  the  States. 

New  Haven,  July  12,  1843. 

Mr.  Geo.  P.  Putnam. 
Dear  Sir: 

.  .  .  My  son  received  and  distributed  your  valuable 
circulars  which  will  I  trust  do  good,  by  diffusing  correct  in- 
formation, although  it  is  hard  work  to  contend  against 
ignorance,  sustained  by  prejudice,  which  is  always  stronger 
as  ignorance  is  greater;  and  then,  as  you  justly  observe,  give 
so  much  real  cause  for  the  most  grave  imputations  both  upon 
our  integrity  and  honour,  that  it  is  hard  to  obtain  a  hearing, 
and  still  harder  to  produce  conviction  when  we  are  heard. 
The  doctrine  of  repudiation  is  not,  however,  new.  At  the 
close  of  the  American  Revolution,  you  are  aware  that  a 
powerful  party  espoused  the  cancelling  of  our  debts  due  to 
individuals  in  England  before  the  American  war,  and  it  re- 
quired all  the  moral  influence  of  Washington  and  his  great 
coadjutors  to  put  the  iniquity  down.  It  gives  great  pain  to 
every  lover  of  his  country  to  see  such  enormous  breaches  of 
trust  both  in  high  places  and  in  low  places,  both  of  private 
and  public  individuals  as  are  frequent  in  our  country  and 

time.     .     .     • 

Col.  Trumbull  resides  in  New  York  and  is  much  bowed 
down  with  the  infirmities  of  advanced  years.  He  is  so 
feeble  that  there  is  little  probability  that  his  system  will 
again  rally,  being  now  also  in  his  eighty-eighth  year  since 
June.  We  were  not  a  little  disappointed  that  his  work  sold 
so  badly,  it  was  certainly  valuable  and  interesting,  but 
perhaps  not  enough  in  chit-chat  and  personal  anecdote  to 
meet  the  taste  of  the  time  which  inclines  very  much  to  small 
talk  and  gossip. 

I  think,  that,  after  his  death,  it  will  yet  loom  up,  and,  like 


George  L.  Prentiss  81 

his  pictures,  be  regarded  as  more  valuable  with  the  progress 
of  time. 

I  remain,  my  dear  Sir,  very  truly  your  obliged  and  obedient 

Friend  and  servant, 

B.  SlLLIMAN. 

In  the  autumn  of  1843,  my  father  made  a  hurried 
business  trip  to  the  States.  It  is  to  the  time  of  this  visit 
that  belong  the  two  letters  here  given  from  the  Rev.  George 
L.  Prentiss  and  Charles  Sumner.  The  former  was  then 
occupying  a  pulpit  in  Portland.  Later,  he  moved  to  New 
York,  taking  first  a  parish  and  in  his  after  years  a  pro- 
fessor's chair  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary.  He  was 
a  Presbyterian  whose  Calvinism  was  tempered  by  a  genial 
and  lovable  nature.  His  wife  became  well  known  as  the 
author  of  Stepping  Heavenward  and  other  successful  books. 
They  remained  lifetime  friends  of  my  father.  Charles 
Sumner  was  at  this  time  thirty-two  years  old,  and  was  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law  in  Boston.  It  was  not  until 
1 85 1  that  he  was  sent  by  Massachusetts,  as  a  free-soiler, 
to  the  Senate,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1874. 

Portland,  October  4,  1843. 
My  dear  Putnam: 

Now  my  good  fellow,  you  will  do  no  such  thing  as  to  stay 
"one  hour"  in  Portland.  If  you  do,  you  will  incur  the  wrath 
of  me  and  the  severe  disapprobation  of  my  mother  and  sisters. 
Stop  with  us  a  little  while,  one  night,  at  least.  You  must. 
We  shan't  take  "no"  for  an  answer.  That  we  shall  not. 
!  If  you  must  go  through  in  the  Brunswick  stage,  why  come 
to  Portland  in  the  afternoon  cars  of  the  previous  evening,  and 
I  '11  be  at  the  Depot  to  greet  you,  nolens  volens.  So  write  me 
at  once  just  when  you  will  be  here,  what  day,  and  in  what 
train  of  cars.     All  the  rest  when  I  see  you. 

Now  no  "no" ;  since  I  've  come  to  know  what  a  tremendous 
blessedness  there  is  in  "yes." 

Most  affectionately  your  friend, 

George  L.  Prentiss. 


82  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Boston,  Nov.  30,  1843. 
My  dear  Sir: 

I  received  only  this  morning  your  kind  note  of  Nov.  28th, 
and  cannot  let  pass  even  the  slightest  chance  of  reaching  you 
with  my  thanks  before  you  sail. 

Both  Longfellow  and  myself  were  pleased  with  the  oppor- 
tunity of  making  your  acquaintance  and  I  don't  remember 
any  incident,  while  you  were  with  us,  which  was  not  entirely 
agreeable. 

The  two  law-books  which  I  alluded  to,  as  having  been  sold 
much  more  extensively  in  our  country  than  in  England,  are 
Starks  on  Evidence  and  Chitty  on  Pleading.  But  this  is  the 
case  with  many  other  law-books  of  England. 

Your  position  in  London  will  enable  you  to  exercise  a  power- 
ful influence  in  introducing  American  books  to  English  favour. 
I  think  it  highly  important  that  you  should  employ  all  proper 
means  to  make  your  establishment  known  as  the  Depot  of 
American  books,  so  that  the  complaint  need  not  be  made, 
which  I  heard  so  often  in  London,  "Nobody  knows  where  to 
procure  American  books." 

If  I  can  be  of  any  service  to  you,  in  the  way  in  which  you 
suggest,  or  in  any  other  way,  I  pray  you  to  command  me. 

Believe  me,  my  dear  Sir, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Charles  Sumner. 

Mr.  F.  W.  Edmonds,  an  artist  friend,  writes  from  New 
York  in  regard  to  the  new  Art  Union,  and  shows  also  an 
intelligent  interest  in  the  subject  of  repudiation. 

New  York,  May  14,  1844. 
My  dear  Sir: 

I  am  glad  that  the  Editor  of  the  A  rt  Union  has  given  such 
evidence  of  a  disposition  to  receive  information  from  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic.  It  now  remains  for  us,  who  have  started  the 
idea,  not  only  to  keep  him  duly  informed,  but  also  to  see  that 
his  good  feelings  arc  not  imposed  upon  by  the  host  of  scribblers 
which  we  are  infested  with,  and  who  if  they  knew  of  the  liberal 


Repudiation  83 

offer  he  has  made,  would  soon  inundate  him  with  all 
kinds  of  trash.  I  was  so  particular  in  the  brief  article  I 
sent  him  through  you,  that,  not  trusting  to  my  judgment 
and  information,  I  submitted  it  to  our  mutual  friend  Wm. 
Durand — and  I  shall  do  likewise  in  any  future  articles  I  send 
him. 

I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  make  an  extract  from  your  letter 
on  the  subject  of  repudiation  and  have  sent  it  to  one  of  our 
most  prominent  daily  Journals  for  publication.  You  will 
perceive,  however,  that  the  "  Drab  Coloured"  gentlemen  have 
made  a  move  towards  honesty  in  passing  a  tax  law  to  pay  the 
interest  on  their  State  debt.  The  people  of  England  should 
know,  that  New  Yorkers  hate  repudiation  as  cordially  as  they 
do, — so  much  so,  that  I  could  name  several  of  our  first  mer- 
chants who  have  refused  to  sell  goods  to  a  merchant  hailing 
from  a  repudiating  State  although  that  merchant  offered 
them  the  silver  dollars!  Could  John  Bull  do  better  than 
this? 

It  is  possible  that  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  may  not 
respond  to  the  call  of  their  tax-gatherers  as  promptly  as  they 
should  do,  but  I  think  Pennsylvania  will  now  pay  her  interest 
— and  if  she  does,  the  defaulting  States  will  be  confined  to  such 
as  are  slave-holding  States,  and  those  settled  chiefly  of  paupers 
from  Europe. 

I  am  not  unmindful  of  your  appeal  to  me  to  "agitate"  this 
subject.  I  have  done  so  and  shall  continue  what  I  can  to 
produce  a  better  state  of  things. 

The  difficulty  which  you  have  to  encounter  arises  from  the 
ignorance  of  the  English  people  in  not  understanding  our 
local  characters  as  a  people.  If  the  English  should  be  fools 
enough  to  loan  a  clan  of  Highlanders  in  the  North  of  Scotland 
money  and  they  should  repudiate,  it  strikes  me  they  would 
not  condemn  all  Scotland  for  this  act  of  an  ignorant  and  de- 
stitute people.  Why  then  should  New  York  and  the  New 
England  States  be  censured  for  the  dishonesty  of  Mississip- 
pians  who  are  an  entirely  different  race  of  people  and  are  over 
one  thousand  miles  removed  from  us? 

The    real    "Yankees,"   to    wit    New   Yorkers    and    New 


84  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

Englanders,  have  never  repudiated  and  as  long  as  the  Bible 
and  the  common  schools  are  as  abundant  among  them  as  they 
arc  now,  they  never  will. 

If  the  people  around  you  want  to  know  the  distinction  I 
allude  to,  they  may  compare  our  present  Minister  to  England 
with  our  late  Minister.  If  Sydney  Smith  sees  "almost"  19 
or  20  shillings  in  the  face  of  Mr.  Everett,  what  a  beggarly 
account  of  "empty  boxes"  must  he  have  found  in  the  face 
of  Mr.  Stevenson, — and  yet  there  is  a  rumour  here  that 
our  "Accidental"  President  means  to  recall  the  former  and 
reinstate  the  latter ! 

I  rejoice  to  hear  that  you  have  opened  so  extensive  an  es- 
tablishment for  the  exhibition  of  American  talent.  It  is 
what  our  country  has  long  needed  and  I  hope  your  efforts  will 
be  crowned  with  abundant  success. 

I  don't  know  whether  it  would  be  an  object  to  you,  but  I 
was  suggesting  to  Mr.  Durand  that  we  ought  to  send  out  to 
you  by  way  of  a  loan  for  a  few  months  some  few  of  our  pictures 
for  your  Exhibition  room;  then  Mr.  Hall  can  see  something 
of  the  works  of  American  artists.  I  would  very  willingly  send 
out  for  a  short  time  the  picture  you  saw  in  my  room  and  which 
is  now  exhibiting  in  the  National  Academy  and  which  seems 
to  be  popular  with  the  visitors.  We  should  endeavour  that 
you  should  be  put  to  no  expense.     .     .     . 

This  letter  I  shall  send  by  one  of  our  New  York  merchants 
who  may  possibly  not  deliver  it  till  some  time  after  his  arrival, 
but  I  don't  know  that  there  is  anything  in  it  that  will  spoil 
by  keeping. 

My  respects  to  Mrs.  Putnam. 

Yours  truly, 

F.  W.  Edmonds. 


I  give  below  a  letter  from  Washington  Irving,  who  was 
later  to  become  a  valued  friend  as  well  as  a  valuable 
author  for  the  young  publisher.  The  business  connection 
was,  however,  still  to  be  delayed  for  three  years.  Irving 
was  at  this  time  Minister  to  Spain. 


"WasHing'ton  Irving  85 

Madrid,  August  13,  1845. 
Geo.  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir: 

I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  July 
7th  as  well  as  one,  on  the  same  subject,  dated  1st  March  last, 
from  your  House  in  New  York. 

I  do  not  know  any  House  in  which  I  would  confide  more 
implicitly  than  in  yours  for  fair  and  honourable  dealing;  but  it 
has  one  disadvantage  in  respect  to  a  new  work;  you  publish 
on  both  sides  of  the  water,  and  your  cheap  New  York  editions 
would  stand  very  much  in  the  way  of  a  bargain  with  a  London 
publisher. 

The  terms  you  offer  are  very  probably  liberal,  in  the  present 
state  of  the  "literary  market"  but  they  show  how  the  want  of 
an  international  copyright,  by  inundating  the  country  with 
foreign  works,  published  at  so  low  a  rate  as  scarcely  to  yield 
a  profit  to  the  publisher,  is  calculated  to  starve  native  literat- 
ure. 

However,  I  have  nothing  now  at  present  that  I  am  prepared 
to  launch  before  the  public ;  neither  am  I  willing  just  now  that 
any  of  my  former  works  should  be  published  separately. 

I  am  preparing  a  complete  edition  of  my  works,  with  cor- 
rections, alterations,  additions,  and  when  in  a  sufficient  state 
of  forwardness,  it  is  my  idea  to  make  an  arrangement  for  the 
whole  (and  perhaps  for  any  new  writings  I  may  have  ready 
for  the  press),  either  by  disposing  of  the  copyrights,  or  by 
turning  them  out  collectively  for  a  term  of  years,  at  a  yearly 
consideration. 

I  think  I  can  then  show,  when  I  come  to  make  such  an  ar- 
rangement, how,  in  the  hands  of  an  extensive  publishing  house, 
my  writings  may  be  made  available  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
They  are  voluminous,  yet  varied ;  they  may  be  published  col- 
lectively and  separately;  they  may  be  thrown  into  various 
forms,  series  of  tales,  of  essays,  of  sketches;  they  may  form 
parts  of  series  of  similar  writings  by  other  authors,  etc.,  all  of 
which  arrangements  and  modifications  I  would  undertake  to 
superintend. 

If,  hereafter,    I   can  make  a   satisfactory  arrangement  of 


86  George  Palmer  Putnam 

this  kind  with  your  House,  I  assure  you  there  is  none  with 
which  I  would  be  more  happy  to  deal. 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  friend  and  servant, 
Washington  Irving. 

Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  to  Robert  Browning. 

September  4,  1845. 
.  .  .  Only  let  me  remember  to  tell  you  this  time  in  relation 
to  those  books  and  the  question  asked  of  yourself  by  your 
noble  Romans,  that  just  as  I  was  enclosing  my  sixty  pounds 
debt  to  Mr.  Moxon,  I  did  actually,  and  miraculously  receive 
a  remittance  of  fourteen  pounds  from  the  selfsame  bookseller 
of  New  York  who  agreed  last  year  to  print  my  poems  at  his 
own  risk  and  give  me  "ten  per  cent,  on  the  profit."  Not  that 
I  ever  asked  for  such  a  thing!  They  were  the  terms  offered. 
And  I  always  considered  the  "percentage"  as  quite  visionary 
— put  in  for  the  sake  of  effect,  to  make  the  agreement  look 
better.  But  no — you  see!  One's  poetry  has  a  real  "commer- 
cial value"  if  you  do  but  take  it  far  away  enough  from  the 
"civilisation  of  Europe." 

Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  to  Robert  Browning. 

October  25,  1845. 
...  I  had  a  proposition  from  the  New  York  booksellers 
about  six  weeks  ago  (the  booksellers  who  printed  the  poems) 
to  let  them  re-print  those  prose  papers  of  mine  in  the  Athenceum 
with  additional  matter  on  American  literature,  in  a  volume  by 
itself — to  be  published  at  the  same  time  both  in  America  and 
England  by  Wiley  &  Putnam  in  Waterloo  Place,  and  meaning 
to  offer  liberal  terms,  they  said.  Now,  what  shall  I  do? 
Those  papers  are  not  fit  for  separate  publication,  and  I  am  not 
inclined  to  the  responsibility  of  them ;  and  in  any  case,  they 
must  give  as  much  trouble  as  if  they  were  re-written  (trouble 
and  not  poetry!),  before  I  could  consent  to  such  a  thing. 
Well ! — and  if  I  do  not,  these  people  are  just  as  likely  to  print 


THe  Brownings  87 

them  without  leave,  and  so  without  correction.  What  do 
you  advise?  What  shall  I  do?  All  this  time  they  think  me 
sublimely  indifferent,  they  who  pressed  for  an  answer  by 
return  of  packet — and  now  it  is  past  six,  eight  weeks;  and  I 
must  say  something. 

Robert  Browning  to  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning. 

October  27,  1845. 
...  It  was  on  my  lip,  I  do  think,  last  visit,  or  the  last  but 
one,  to  beg  you  to  detach  those  papers  from  the  Athett (sum's 
gdchis.  Certainly  this  opportunity  is  most  favourable,  for 
every  reason:  you  cannot  hesitate,  surely.  At  present  those 
papers  are  lost — lost  for  practical  purposes.  Do  pray  reply 
without  fail  to  the  proposers;  no,  no  harm  of  these  really  fine 
fellows,  who  could  do  harm  (by  printing  incorrect  copies,  and 
perhaps  eking  out  the  column  by  supposititious  matter,  ex.gr. 
they  strengthened  and  lengthened  a  book  of  Dickens',  in  Paris, 
by  adding  quantum  sufficit  of  Thackeray's  Yellowplush 
Papers,  as  I  discovered  by  a  Parisian  somebody  praising  the 
latter  to  me  as  Dickens'  best  work!)  and  who  do  really  a  good 
straightforward  un-American  thing.  You  will  encourage  "the 
day  of  small  things" — though  this  is  not  small,  nor  likely 
to  have  small  results.  I  shall  be  impatient  to  hear  that  you 
have  decided.  I  like  the  progress  of  these  Americans  in  taste, 
their  amazing  leaps,  like  grasshoppers  up  to  the  sun — from — 
what  is  the  "from,"  what  depth,  do  you  remember,  say  ten 
or  twelve  years  back? — to — Carlyle,  and  Tennyson,  and  you! 
So  children,  leave  off  Jack  of  Cornwall  and  go  on  just  to  Homer. 

One  other  volume  was  completed  during  my  father's 
sojourn  in  London,  but  as  it  was  privately  printed  in  a 
very  limited  edition,  it  can  hardly  be  referred  to  as  a 
"publication."  The  volume  presents  the  record,  in  jour- 
nal form,  of  a  trip  taken  to  the  Continent  with  my  mother 
in  February,  1847.  The  printed  sheets  before  me  bear  the 
title,  Memoranda  in  Italy  and  Germany.  The  journey 
was  started  in  ordinary  routine  in  train  from  London  to 


88  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Paris  by  way  of  Folkestone  and  Boulogne.  My  father 
makes  reference  to  a  travelling  companion  met  on  the 
Channel,  a  "talkative  English  major," — topics,  ether 
(only  recently  applied  as  an  anaesthetic  by  the  American 
Dr.  Morton),  Yankees,  war  with  Mexico,  etc.  He  speaks 
of  the  steamer  Prince  Ernest  as  "a  marked  improvement 
on  the  shabby  little  Dover  steamer  of  1836.  She  carried 
no  less  than  thirty  passengers."  The  journey  was  con- 
tinued from  Boulogne  by  diligence.  The  usual  note- 
worthy things  were  visited  in  Paris  and  the  diligence  was 
then  taken  to  Chalons,  a  thirty-six  hours'  ride.  From 
Chalons  they  proceeded  by  steamboat  on  the  Saone  to 
Lyons.  Thence  the  route  went  across  to  the  Rhone  and 
by  steamer  to  Avignon  and  from  Avignon  to  Marseilles. 

On  the  steamer  from  Marseilles  to  Genoa  they  met 
"Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  of  New  York  and  Miss  Fuller  of  Bos- 
ton." The  Miss  Fuller  was  Margaret  Fuller,  whom  my 
father  had  already  known  through  his  Boston  cousins. 
He  was  interested  in  so  arranging  his  plans  for  Italy  as 
to  retain  Margaret  for  a  travelling  companion  during  a 
large  part  of  their  journey. 

The  journey  was  continued  by  steamer  to  Leghorn  by 
Pisa  and  Naples.  Between  Leghorn  and  Naples  there  is 
record  of  a  collision  between  their  Italian  steamer  and  a 
French  boat,  which  might  have  proved  serious,  but  from 
which  both  boats  got  away  without  loss  of  life.1  From 
Naples  visits  were  made  to  Mount  Vesuvius  and  to  Pom- 
peii. The  journey  was  then  continued  to  Rome  writh  pre- 
liminary excursions  to  Paestum,  Salerno  (the  site  of  the 

■  Father  went  up  on  deck  to  investigate  the  situation.  It  seemed  to  be 
serious,  and  he  went  down  again  to  beg  mother  and  Miss  Fuller  not  to  be 
alarmed.  In  the  meantime  Miss  Fuller  had  joined  mother  and  was  urg- 
ing her  not  to  try  to  dress,  but  to  jump  overboard  at  once.  "  I'll  throw 
you  your  things,"  she  added.  This  threw  them  both  into  such  gales  of 
laughter  that  father  found  his  reassuring  words  (whose  truth  he  himself 
doubted)  to  be  quite  needless.     R.  P. 


Margaret  Fuller  89 

medical  college  in  Europe),  and  Amalfi.  Rome  was 
reached  on  the  20th  of  March,  twenty-seven  days  after 
leaving  London.  In  Rome  my  father  appears  to  have 
been  a  diligent  sightseer  with  all  the  energy  and  active- 
mindedness  of  an  intelligent  American.  He  remained  in 
the  capital  seventeen  days,  the  fortnight  including  a  num- 
ber of  the  more  noteworthy  ceremonials  of  the  Easter 
season.  In  leaving  Rome,  they  were  obliged  to  lose  the 
companionship  of  Miss  Fuller,  whose  engagements  kept 
her  longer  in  the  city  in  which  she  was  later  to  find  a  home 
and  a  husband. 

Miss  Fuller  was  then  under  engagement  with  Horace 
Greeley  to  write  a  series  of  letters  for  the  New  York 
Tribune.  It  was  a  time  when  travelling  in  Europe  was  by 
no  means  so  common  a  performance  as  it  has  since  become. 
Letters  from  travellers  who  did  not  have  any  very  excep- 
tional powers  either  of  observation  or  of  description  found 
place  in  the  leading  American  papers  and  presumably 
found  readers.  Margaret  Fuller  was,  however,  to  be 
classed  among  travellers  who  had  something  to  say  and 
who  knew  both  how  to  observe  and  how  to  describe.  A 
single  letter  of  the  series  which  my  father  had  preserved 
presents  a  graphic  series  of  little  pictures  of  the  things  to 
be  seen  between  Paris  and  Genoa.  One  of  her  remarks 
concerning  Paris  is  quite  characteristic  of  a  woman  who 
from  the  time  when  she  had  first  learned  to  talk  was  ready 
to  examine  or  catechise  other  people: 

Paris!  I  was  sad  to  leave  you,  that  wonderful  focus,  where 
ignorance  ceases  to  be  a  pain  because  there  we  find  such 
means  daily  to  lessen  it.  It  is  the  only  school  where  I  ever 
found  an  abundance  of  teachers  who  could  bear  being  exam- 
ined by  the  pupil  in  their  special  branches.  I  must  go  to  this 
school  more  before  I  again  cross  the  Atlantic  on  the  American 
side  of  which  I  have  often  for  years  carried  about  some  trifling 
question  without  finding  the  person  who  could  answer  it. 


90  George  Palmer  Putnam 

[Those  who  knew  Miss  Margaret  Fuller  could  bear  testimony 
that  her  failure  to  get  answers  was  not  due  to  any  lack  of  per- 
sistency on  her  part  in  pressing  the  question.]  Really  deep 
questions  we  must  after  all  answer  for  ourselves — the  more 
the  pity  not  to  get  through  more  quickly  with  a  crowd  of 
details  in  which  the  experience  of  others  might  accelerate  our 
progress. 

My  father  referred  afterwards  to  Margaret  Fuller's 
experiences  in  Rome  and  spoke  particularly  of  one  occasion 
when  he  found  her  late  at  night  somewhere  near  the  Forum, 
separated  from  her  party  and  apparently  quite  dazed  as 
to  what  she  should  do  with  herself.  Her  interest  in  Italy 
caused  her  to  make  another  visit  some  years  later  and 
during  the  second  sojourn  she  was  married  to  the  Count 
d'Ossoli.  A  year  later,  she  started  with  her  husband  and 
infant  child  to  return  to  her  own  country.  The  vessel 
was  wrecked  on  Rockaway  Beach,  and  but  one  or  two 
sailors  were  saved  from  the  disaster.  Margaret  must  have 
been  at  this  time  about  forty  years  of  age.  Her  friends 
had  prophesied  great  accomplishments  for  her  in  literature 
when  she  should  again  take  up  the  work  and  the  responsi- 
bilities of  her  Yankee  home. 

The  journey  from  Rome  was  continued  to  Siena, 
Florence,  Pisa,  and  Lucca.  In  Florence,  my  father  hears 
that  the  popularity  of  the  Grand  Duke  was  considered  to 
be  rather  on  the  wane  because,  "although  once  very  liberal 
and  an  encourager  of  progress  he  has  allowed  the  new  Pope 
to  get  the  start  in  the  race  of  Reform."  The  "new  Pope " 
was,  of  course,  Pius  IX.  The  reform  measures,  favoured 
by  the  Pope  and  carried  out  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  more 
liberal  of  the  rulers  of  the  Italian  principalities,  did  not 
prove  sufficiently  satisfactory  to  the  people  to  prevent 
Italy  from  becoming  a  year  later  the  hotbed  of  the  revo- 
lutionary movements  of  1848.  My  father  had  had,  as 
mentioned,  opportunity,  while  in  London,  of  hearing  from 


.An  Italian  Journey  91 

Mazzini  and  other  of  the  revolutionary  counsellors  more 
or  less  concerning  the  aspirations  and  the  plans  of  the 
revolutionists  of  Italy  and  also  of  their  sympathisers  in 
Germany  and  France.  He  does  not  seem,  however,  to 
have  noted  during  this  journey  of  1847  any  symptoms  in 
the  Italian  cities  visited  by  him  of  the  events  that  were  a 
few  months  later  to  give  the  Italian  peninsula  so  serious  a 
shaking  up.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  my 
father  had  no  knowledge  of  Italian  (and  in  this  my  mother 
was  not  then  able  to  be  of  service)  and  was,  therefore,  not 
in  a  position  to  gather  information  from  street  talk.  He 
does  seem  to  have  taken  pains  to  make  friends  with  fel- 
low-travellers at  various  points  in  the  journey,  but  these 
travellers  were  naturally  not  Italians. 

He  describes  with  patriotic  interest  his  visit  to  the 
American  sculptor,  Powers,  in  his  studio  in  Florence. 
Powers  had  just  finished  for  an  American  client  a  replica 
of  the  Greek  Slave.  With  a  prejudice  which  was  perhaps 
pardonable,  my  father  says  that  he  would  rather  own  the 
Eve  or  the  Greek  Slave  by  Powers  than  the  Venus  de 
Medici.  The  travellers  had  but  three  days  to  spare  for 
Florence  ("It  is  too  bad,"  said  my  father,  "instead  of 
three  days  one  wants  thirty").  He  speaks,  with  the 
interest  of  a  man  of  business,  of  seeing  in  the  museum  of 
the  Palazzo  Peruzzi  the  series  of  unpaid  bonds  of  Edward 
III.  of  England,  for  an  amount  of  135,000  marks  lent  to 
the  English  King  by  the  Palazzo  family.  "The  King's 
repudiation  of  these  bonds,"  says  my  father,  "or  his 
failure  to  pay  them,  caused  the  bankruptcy  of  the  holders. 
This  repudiated  debt,"  he  continues,  "with  the  interest  to 
the  present  time,  would  amount  to  more  than  the  present 
national  debt  of  England ;  while  several  other  Florentine 
bankers  were  served  in  the  same  manner  by  this  untrust- 
worthy monarch.  This  is,  however,"  he  proceeds,  "no  ex- 
cuse for  Mississippi.     She  ought  to  teach  England  better. ' ' 


92  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Leaving  Florence,  they  proceeded  by  diligence  or  coach 
along  the  valley  of  the  Arno.  At  Pontedera,  about 
I  wenty  miles  from  Florence,  they  reached  the  railway,  only 
so  far  finished  from  Leghorn  and  Pisa.  Work  was  pro- 
gressing on  the  completion  of  the  road.  The  journal 
mentions  that  "a  railway  from  Florence  to  Rome  is  said  to 
be  actually  in  plan.  .  .  .  This  will  be  a  most  desirable 
achievement,  for  the  journey  is  now  tedious  and  dull." 

The  travellers  followed  the  railway  as  far  as  Pisa,  where 
they  stopped  for  a  second  visit  for  a  few  hours.  When 
they  continued  by  train  to  Lucca  my  father  noticed  with 
pleasure  that  the  maker's  name  on  the  new  locomotive  was 
Morris  of  Philadelphia.     He  goes  on  to  say: 

American  enterprise  is  excursive.  The  Morris  concern 
has  contracted  to  supply  large  numbers  of  his  locomotives 
to  the  governments  of  Austria  and  Russia,  the  contract  with 
the  latter  including  the  locomotives  for  the  Moscow  and  St. 
Petersburg  road  now  in  process  of  construction. 

At  Lucca,  the  travellers  were  amused  at  the  fussiness  of 
the  custom-house  officers  who  were  "protecting"  the 
frontier  of  this  ten-miles-square  principality.  These 
officials  made  more  parade  of  officiousness  than  those  of 
France,  Naples,  and  Rome  put  together.  The  railroad 
facilities  came  to  an  end  at  Lucca  and  the  journey  was 
continued  by  vetturino  to  Genoa.  The  distance  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  and  the  time  allowed  for  the 
vetturino  three  days. 

I  do  not  undertake  to  cite  my  father's  descriptions  of, 
or  references  to,  the  noteworthy  objects  of  the  various 
cities  through  which  he  passed.  He  was  evidently  an 
observing  traveller  who  allowed  very  few  things  to  escape 
him,  and  the  notes  in  his  journal,  while  brief,  are  clearly 
expressed  and  full  both  of  information  and  suggestion.    In 


An  Italian  Journey  93 

fact,  his  energy  as  a  traveller,  from  dawn  to  midnight,  was 
so  tremendous  that  I  wonder  he  did  not  wear  my  mother 
out.  Throughout  his  life,  he  never  seemed  to  know  what 
fatigue  was. 

Genoa  was  reached  on  the  third  day,  as  planned,  without 
accident.  On  calling  at  the  post-office  to  inquire  for 
letters,  the  traveller  was  handed  from  the  poste-restante 
division  a  parcel  of  a  hundred  or  more  from  which  he 
was  at  liberty  to  take  his  choice.  After  three  days  in 
Genoa,  they  left  by  diligence  for  Milan.  In  passing 
through  Pavia,  he  notes,  doubtless  from  what  appeared 
to  be  trustworthy  information,  that  the  famous  university 
had  been  founded  by  Charlemagne  more  than  one  thou- 
sand years  back,  that  is  to  say,  about  810.  The  legend 
of  the  organisation  during  the  reign  of  Charlemagne  of  the 
two  universities  of  Pavia  and  Bologna  has,  of  course,  long 
since  been  corrected.  It  seems  probable  that  in  each  town 
there  were  instituted,  under  the  general  direction  of 
Alcuin,  schools  forming  part  of  the  great  Imperial  system. 
There  is,  however,  no  evidence  that  these  schools  bore 
any  direct  relation  to  the  later  universities.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Bologna,  which  is  the  older  of  the  two  and  which, 
with  the  exception  of  the  medical  school  in  Salerno,  may 
take  rank  as  the  oldest  university  in  Europe  possessing  a 
continuous  history,  celebrated  its  one  thousandth  anni- 
versary in  1887,  but  the  records  of  university  work  go  back 
only  to  1 1 80. 

In  Milan,  one  of  the  first  visits  was  paid  to  the  Ambros- 
ian  Library,  which  is  recorded  as  containing  about  87,000 
volumes  and  5500  manuscripts.  Among  the  latter  were 
noted  a  Virgil  copied  and  annotated  by  Petrarch;  a 
Josephus  in  Latin  upon  papyrus  (a  papyrus  manuscript 
was  at  that  time  and  is  still  a  curiosity,  particularly  if  it  is 
in  any  measure  complete) ;  a  Homeric  manuscript  of  the 
fourth    century,  with  numerous   illuminations  curiously 


94  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

illustrative  of  the  period ;  the  books  of  Livy,  translated 
into  Italian  by  Boccaccio,  etc. 

The  highest  turret  of  the  Cathedral  was  visited  with 
customary  energy  before  daylight,  in  order  to  keep  a 
promised  appointment  with  the  sunrise.  The  streets  of 
Milan  impressed  the  travellers  as  "more  businesslike  and 
more  American  "  than  those  of  any  Italian  city  yet  visited. 
The  journey  was  continued  from  Milan  by  means  of  a 
diligence  carried  on  the  railway  to  Traviglio,  eighteen 
miles  away,  the  farthest  point  thus  far  reached  by  railroad. 
At  Traviglio,  the  diligence  was  placed  on  its  own  wheels 
and  the  travellers  proceeded  to  Brescia,  noted  as  one  of  the 
corners  of  the  famous  quadrilateral  which  has  played  so 
important  a  part  in  various  Italian  campaigns  and  which 
came  into  special  note  in  the  Franco-Austrian  war  of  1 859 
and  in  the  Italian-Austrian  campaign  of  1 866.  At  Verona, 
they  are  again  able  to  pick  up  the  very  fragmentary  rail- 
road, which  takes  them  to  Venice.  Padua,  with  its 
famous  university,  could  be  examined  only  from  the  rail- 
way-station. The  diary  refers  to  the  impression  as  the 
railroad  traverses  a  bridge  more  than  two  miles  long  over 
the  lagoon,  that  the  train  is  plunging  head  foremost  into 
the  sea.  It  is  noted  that  this  bridge  called  for  the  labour  of 
a  thousand  men  for  four  and  a  half  years. 

The  first  morning  in  Venice  was  taken,  with  unabated 
energy,  at  dawn  in  order  to  catch  a  sunrise  view.  The  day 
was  crowded  with  enthusiastic  sightseeing,  the  record  of 
which  occupies  four  or  five  pages  in  the  journal.  It  was 
finished  in  a  late  moonlight  hour  by  a  walk  through  a 
narrow  labyrinth  of  Maceria  in  connection  with  which  my 
father  expresses  a  vague  wonderment  that  there  was  so 
much  dry  land  in  Venice.  Three  more  days  were  spared 
for  palaces,  galleries,  and  gondolas,  and  the  journey  was 
then  resumed  to  Padua,  Vicenza,  and  Verona.  In  the 
last-mentioned  town  a  careful  search  was  made  for  the 


In  Germany  95 

homes  of  the  Capulets  and  the  Montagues  and  for  the 
tomb  of  Juliet  and  her  lover.  The  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Verona  appears  not  to  have  been  borne  in  mind.  From 
Verona  begins  a  long  diligence  ride  (three  days  and  three 
nights)  through  the  Tyrolese  Alps,  over  the  pass  of  the 
Brenner  to  Innsbruck  and  Munich. 

In  the  Bavarian  capital,  the  first  visit  was  to  the  library, 
which  is  noted  as  standing  on  a  "new  street  as  wide  as 
three  Broadways,"  and  as  containing  800,000  volumes. 
In  the  list  of  duplicates  were  found  no  less  than  fourteen 
copies  of  the  Hugo  Bible,  printed  in  1480  by  Koberger  of 
Nuremberg.  The  following  two  days  were  given  to  the 
galleries  and  on  the  third  day  the  journey  was  continued 
to  Augsburg.  The  railroad  did  not  bring  them  quite  to 
the  city,  and  an  omnibus  ride  of  two  miles  was  required 
before  they  could  reach  the  hotel  of  the  "Three  Moors," 
which  hotel  had  existed  under  the  "same  sign  for  483 
years."  In  Augsburg,  my  father  was  immediately  inter- 
ested in  visiting  the  printing-office  of  the  Allgemeine 
Zeitung,  which  he  describes  as  the  most  influential  journal 
on  the  Continent — the  Times  of  Germany.  After  an 
examination  of  the  old  book-shops  for  which  Augsburg  had 
for  centuries  been  famous,  the  travellers  took  post-chaise 
for  Ulm,  a  distance  of  forty-eight  miles.  The  inns  on  the 
road  are  described  as  "decidedly  primitive." 

When  we  stopped  to  rest,  we  were  always  shown  to  a  public 
room  where  country  boors  of  all  descriptions  were  drinking 
beer  in  quart  jugs  and  smoking  pipes  till  they  could  n't  see 
each  other's  noses.  Madam's  request  for  another  room  was 
always  met  by  a  stare  of  astonishment  and  no  other  Zimmer 
was  vouchsafed,  argue  and  entreat  as  we  would.  The  only 
choice  was  to  sit  in  the  smoke  with  the  boors  or  to  sit  in  the 
carriage.  The  main  feature  of  the  landscape  in  this  flat 
portion  of  Bavaria  was  the  breweries. 


96  George  Palmer  Putnam 

At  Ulm,  my  father  noted  that  extensive  fortifications 
were  now  being  built  to  make  a  more  adequate  protec- 
tion for  the  city  and  for  the  district  against  attack  from 
France.  The  influence  of  the  surrender  by  General  Mack 
to  Napoleon  forty-two  years  back  was,  it  appears,  still 
being  felt. 

Stuttgart  impressed  the  travellers  as  "more  modern 
and  more  American-looking  than  any  city  as  yet  seen  in 
Germany."  It  appeared  to  be  "about  as  large  as  Balti- 
more." According  to  the  report  of  the  cicerone,  the  King 
of  Wurtemberg  was  in  business  on  quite  an  extensive  scale, 
having  dealings  as  a  banker,  a  wine  merchant,  and  a  horse 
vendor,  with  three  separate  establishments.  The  King 
kept  three  hundred  horses  in  town  and  twelve  hundred 
more  at  different  breeding  establishments  in  the  country. 
"His  'Lola  Montez'  lives  in  a  handsome  house  within 
sight  of  the  queen's  apartments  in  the  palace."  The  pub- 
lic library  is  recorded  as  containing  the  largest  collection 
of  Bibles  in  the  world,  a  collection  comprising  8544  vol- 
umes, in  sixty  different  languages.  The  activity  of  Stutt- 
gart as  a  publishing  and  a  bookselling  centre  is  naturally 
noted. 

The  castle  and  town  of  Heidelberg,  reached  on  the  day 
following,  received  their  full  measure  of  attention  and  of 
description.  In  the  library  of  the  University,  the  travel- 
lers are  shown  a  number  of  curious  manuscripts,  including 
an  autograph  of  Luther.  They  are  told  that  the  Uni- 
versity at  that  time  contained  700  students.  During  the 
seventy  years  since,  it  has  increased  somewhat  in  actual 
numbers  (the  students  now  aggregate  about  1500),  but 
has  diminished  very  materially  in  relative  importance  to 
such  institutions  as  those  of  Berlin,  Leipsic,  Strasburg, 
etc.  From  Heidelberg  the  usual  river  route  is  followed 
down  the  Rhine  by  Mannheim,  Coblenz,  Neuwied,  and 
Andernach  to  Cologne. 


In  Germany  97 

The  Cathedral  (which  my  father  speaks  of  having  seen 
twice  before  within  ten  years)  was  at  that  time  in  progress 
towards  completion.  Three  hundred  workmen  were 
employed  upon  it,  and  the  cost  of  the  remaining  structure 
was  estimated  at  5,000,000  thalers,  something  under 
$4,000,000.  The  famous  crane,  set  up  five  hundred  years 
back  for  hoisting  stones  to  the  tower,  was,  in  1847,  still  in 
position.  It  was  in  position,  possibly  a  little  more  black- 
ened and  fragmentary,  when  the  writer,  on  his  way  as  a 
small  student  from  Paris  to  Berlin  in  i860,  visited  Cologne. 
The  Cathedral  was  actually  brought  to  completion  in  the 
early  seventies,  and  the  crane  was  then  taken  down. 

From  Cologne  the  travellers  went  by  rail  to  Antwerp  by 
way  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Liege,  Louvain,  and  Mechlin. 
Liege  is  described  as  the  "Brummagem"  (Birmingham)  or 
Pittsburg  of  Belgium,  picturesquely  situated,  populous, 
and  busy.  Arms  and  chivalry  have  given  way  to  iron 
foundries  and  steam-engines.  Even  the  Bishop's  Palace, 
commemorated  in  Quentin  Durward,  is  now  Cocherill's 
iron  foundry,  "the  largest  in  Belgium,"  employing  fifteen 
hundred  men  and  fifteen  steam-engines;  and,  as  if  to  con- 
nect the  romantic  and  historic  with  present  matter  of  fact, 
the  locomotives  of  the  railway  are  named  "Guillaume  de 
la  Marck ' '  and  ' '  I  sabelle  de  Croye. ' '  At  Antwerp,  special 
attention  was  given  to  the  great  Rubens  collection,  and 
then  to  the  Cathedral.  The  Plantin  Museum  would 
naturally  have  been  a  point  of  interest  for  my  father,  but 
it  was  not  instituted  until  forty  years  later.  Antwerp  is 
spoken  of  as  "once  the  richest  and  most  populous  city  in 
Europe,  but  now  respectable,  decayed,  and  dull."  The 
impetus  given  to  this  old-time  commercial  metropolis  by 
the  development  of  the  steam  marine  of  the  Low  Countries 
did  not  come  into  effect  until  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
later. 

From  Antwerp  there  was  a  short  railroad  journey  to 


98  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Ostend,  described  as  (excepting  always  Civita  Vecchia) 
the  dullest  of  seaports.  In  the  "Flanders"  Hotel  the 
simple  honesty  of  the  chambermaid  struck  the  travellers 
as,  in  connection  with  their  recent  Continental  experiences, 
so  great  a  novelty  that  she  was  questioned  and  found  to 
be  an  American. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  the  tenth  week  of  their  journey,  the 
travellers  took  a  Belgian  steamer  for  Dover,  where  they 
arrived  after  a  quiet  trip  of  five  hours,  and  in  four  hours 
from  the  time  of  their  arrival  were  again  at  home  in 
London. 

The  printing  of  the  journal  from  which  the  above  sum- 
mary has  been  given  is  referred  to  by  my  father  with  the 
following  word  of  explanation : 

These  brief  notes,  written  "on  the  wing"  in  a  pocket  memo- 
randum book,  were  reprinted  in  the  Literary  World  (of  New 
York)  and  a  few  copies  were  struck  off  from  the  columns  of 
the  paper,  for  the  use  of  the  home  circle  and  some  personal 
friends.  The  "notes"  contain,  of  course,  nothing  in  the  way 
of  novelty,  but  I  have  attempted  to  present  in  them  a  simple 
memorandum  record  of  what  can  be  done  and  seen  in  a  limited 
time,  a  record  that  may  be  useful  to  a  person  going  over  similar 
ground.  The  value  of  such  notes,  if  they  have  any  value, 
consists  in  their  being  accurate  and  comprehensive  as  far  as 
they  go  and  in  their  references  to  the  things  best  worth  seeing 
and  that  actually  can  be  seen  under  similar  circumstances 
within  the  time  specified,  even  if  the  traveller  has  the  "en- 
cumbrance" of  a  wife.  In  rapidity  of  travelling,  especially 
in  the  regions  removed  from  railways  and  steam,  a  bachelor 
may  have  the  advantage.  Every  year,  every  month,  however, 
inereases  the  facilities  for  travelling,  and  probably  within  a 
term  of  five  years  Italy  will  be  brought  much  nearer  within 
reach.  It  is  really  the  last  country  in  the  world  in  which 
railroad  speed  should  be  desired  by  one  travelling  for  pleasure, 
but  when  the  alternative  is  rapidity  or  no  Italy  at  all,  economy 
of  time  is  a  material  consideration. 


Return  to  New  Yorh  99 

The  expense  of  such  a  journey  to  Italy  and  Germany  as  is 
here  described,  covering  ten  weeks'  time,  was  estimated  for 
a  married  couple  at  £140,  say,  $700. 

While  the  travelling  expenditure  had  been  kept  down  to 
a  very  moderate  basis,  the  calculations  had  in  some  way 
been  exceeded,  and  at  some  point  on  the  route  (I  think  it 
was  at  Milan)  my  father  found  his  cash  exhausted.  He 
secured,  by  pledging  his  watch,  a  loan  which  carried  them 
over  to  the  next  remittance  point,  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  Alps.  He  was  unwilling,  however,  to  speak  to  his 
companion  of  the  difficulty  and,  as  a  result  of  his  reticence, 
she  persisted  with  unconscious  perversity  in  making 
repeated  inquiries  for  the  precise  time.  He  succeeded, 
by  means  of  the  public  clocks,  in  giving  the  information, 
and  it  was  not  until  they  were  again  safe  in  London  that 
he  owned  up  about  the  pawnshop.  The  watch  which  had 
proved  so  useful  in  time  of  need,  a  solid  piece  of  work  from 
Tobias,  of  Liverpool,  descended  to  the  eldest  son  and  was 
taken  from  his  house  by  burglars  in  1883. 

In  1847,  my  father  decided  to  close  his  business  work 
in  London  and  to  return  to  New  York.  The  operations 
in  London  had  been  only  moderately  successful.  It  was 
quite  difficult  at  that  time  (and  it  has  in  fact  not  proved 
easy  in  later  years)  to  secure  on  the  part  of  English  readers 
any  such  continued  interest  in  American  books  as  to  render 
remunerative  the  business  of  importing  these  books  into 
England.  There  was  a  better  possibility  of  profit  in  the 
line  of  purchasing  in  England  books  and  periodicals  for 
sale  in  the  States,  and  this  had  in  fact  formed  the  more 
important  division  of  the  work  in  Waterloo  Place.  My 
father's  growing  relations  with  literary  circles  had,  how- 
ever, given  him  an  increasing  interest  in  publishing  plans 
and  possibilities.  These  plans  he  found  it  too  difficult  to 
develop  in  London,  the  more  particularly  as  the  senior 


ioo  George  Palmer  Putnam 

partner  in  New  York,  Mr.  Wiley,  was  disposed  to  be 
sceptical  in  regard  to  the  prospects  of  profit  from  pub- 
lishing undertakings  or  at  least  from  international  pub- 
lishing arrangements.  Mr.  Wiley  was  a  clear-headed  and 
shrewd  business  man;  but  his  experience  had  up  to  that 
time  been  almost  exclusively  that  of  a  bookseller.  He 
had  realised  the  value  for  the  development  of  the  modern 
business  in  having  the  House  represented  by  a  partner 
in  London  who  could  make  purchases  direct  without  the 
intervention  of  a  commission  agent.  He  had  been  dis- 
posed, however,  to  discourage  as  visionary  and  doubtful 
not  a  few  of  my  father's  publishing  schemes.  It  is  quite 
probable  that,  for  the  conditions  in  force  in  the  early 
'forties,  Mr.  Wiley's  judgment  was  better  in  this  respect 
than  that  of  my  father.  The.American  publishing  House 
that  might  first  have  established  assured  connections  with 
Great  Britain,  and  that  might  have  been  prepared,  for 
the  sake  of  such  connections,  to  risk  the  outlay  required 
for  the  maintenance  of  a  branch  House  in  London,  would, 
of  course,  have  had  all  the  advantage  of  precedence,  and 
such  House  ought  to  have  been  able  to  secure  the  con- 
trol of  the  American  market  for  a  good  proportion  of  the 
noteworthy  English  authors.  It  would  further,  of  course, 
have  had  the  opportunity  of  introducing  into  England 
books  by  American  writers  suited  for  the  interests  of  Eng- 
lish readers  the  number  of  which,  while  still  inconsiderable, 
was  certainly  increasing.  It  is  quite  possible,  however, 
that  by  1847  the  time  had  not  come  for  the  effective  and 
profitable  management  of  such  an  undertaking,  and  that 
Mr.  Wiley's  conclusion  was  the  wiser  of  the  two. 

I  cannot  but  regret  that  these  two  partners  should  not 
have  continued  their  association.  Mr.  Wiley's  excellent 
critical  judgment  and  cautious  conservatism  would  have 
served  as  a  very  valuable  brake  on  my  father's  publishing 
optimism.     Every  well-organised  publishing  office  needs 


Emerson  and  Carlyle  101 

in  its  direction  at  least  one  persistent  pessimist.  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  if  Wiley  &  Putnam  had  continued 
to  work  together,  their  diverse  temperaments  ought  to 
have  produced  a  successful  and  assured  business  result. 
My  father  had  the  creative  touch  and  the  literary  instinct. 
It  would,  however,  have  been  an  enormous  service  to  his 
future  if  his  enterprise,  his  pluck,  his  personal  magnetism, 
and  his  good  literary  judgment  could  have  been  tempered 
and  limited  by  an  associate  possessing  the  conservative  and 
doubtful  temperament;  one  who  would  have  kept  close 
watch  over  the  financial  requirements  and  possibilities, 
and  who  would  have  held  within  safe  limits  (or  at  least 
within  such  limits  as  may  be  possible  with  any  publishing 
undertakings)  the  speculative  risks. 

In  1846,  Emerson  and  Carlyle,  who  had  for  some  years 
been  in  friendly  correspondence  with  each  other,  were 
exchanging  services  in  arranging  for  transatlantic  editions 
of  their  several  books.  Carlyle's  earlier  volumes  had  been 
issued  in  the  States  in  various  unauthorised  editions,  sold 
at  very  low  prices.  Emerson  had  succeeded  in  securing 
for  certain  books  arrangements  with  Little,  Brown  &  Co., 
of  Boston,  under  which  authorised  editions  were  issued 
which  brought  to  Carlyle  certain  not  very  large  but  satis- 
factory payments.  The  moneys  were  collected  by  Emer- 
son himself,  as  it  appears  from  the  correspondence  that 
Emerson  remitted  the  amounts  in  exchange  direct  to  his 
friend  in  London.  It  would  appear  from  Emerson's 
reports  that  the  Boston  publishers  became  discouraged 
with  the  task  of  trying  to  secure  remunerative  sales  for 
their  authorised  editions  in  competition  with  the  piracy 
issues  of  certain  New  York  and  Philadelphia  houses. 
Learning  that  the  Boston  arrangements  had  terminated 
and  were  not  to  be  renewed,  my  father  called  upon  Carlyle 
in  Chelsea  and  submitted  a  proposition  on  behalf  of  Wiley 
&  Putnam  for  the  publication  of  a  uniform  edition  of  all 


102  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  Carlyle  volumes  at  that  time  in  readiness.  The  pro- 
position was  referred  by  Carlyle  to  his  friend  in  Boston 
with  authority  to  act,  and  Emerson  completed  the  ar- 
rangement under  which  the  books  were  to  be  issued  in 
New  York. 

Emerson  writes  from  Concord,  April  9,  1846: 

Messrs.  Wiley  &  Putnam. 

Gentlemen  : 

Mr.  Carlyle's  Sartor  Resartus  was  reprinted  for  the  fifth 
time  from  Fraser's  Magazine,  by  Munroe,  at  the  request  of 
my  friend  Mr.  Russell  and  myself,  but  at  Munroe's  own  risk 
and  profit.  Mr.  Carlyle  received  no  benefit  from  it,  and  I 
know  not  what  claims  Munroe  makes  on  the  book,  or  whether 
any. 

The  French  Revolution  I  published,  for  the  author,  through 
Little  &  Brown.  That  edition  was  long  ago  sold.  Of  the 
new  and  converted  edition  in  three  volumes  Mr.  Carlyle  sent 
over  to  Little  &  Brown  500  copies,  which  were  sold  for  his 
benefit.  He  has  no  interest  that  I  know  of  in  any  existing 
American  edition. 

I  collected  the  Miscellanies  and  published  them  by  Munroe 
for  the  author,  two  editions  of  the  first  series,  or  volumes  one 
and  two ;  and  one  edition  of  the  second,  volumes  three  and  four. 
When  Munroe's  stock  of  complete  sets  was  nearly  exhausted, 
Carey  &  Hart  made  me  a  proposition  that  they  would  give 
Mr.  Carlyle  fifty  pounds  sterling  for  the  right  to  reprint  the 
Miscellanies  as  a  part  of  their  series  of  Foreign  Essays.  I 
accepted  the  proposition;  they  paid  that  sum  to  Mr.  Carlyle 
about  a  year  ago,  they  purchasing  the  odd  copies  of  the  first 
series,  of  which,  I  believe,  there  remain  a  hundred  or  more,  in 
sheets.  I  gave  Carey  &  Hart  a  certificate  of  Mr.  Carlyle's 
consent  to  and  interest  in  the  work,  which  I  believe  they  pre- 
fixed to  it.  He  has  every  wish  to  protect  their  copies  from  any 
competition. 

Chartism  and  Past  and  Present  were  both  published  by  Little 
&  Brown,  for  the  author,  from  early  copies  (the  latter  from  a 


Emerson  and  Carlyle  103 

copy  partly  in  manuscript)  sent  out  to  me.  I  have  not  by  me 
any  recent  account  from  Little  &  Brown,  but  I  believe  they 
have  never  quite  closed  the  sales  of  their  editions,  the  New- 
York  printed  copy  of  Past  and  Present  having  spoiled  our  sale. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Miscellanies,  I  should  be  glad  if 
you  will  make,  by  direct  proposition  to  Mr.  Carlyle,  any  ar- 
rangement for  a  correct  and  uniform  publication  of  his  works, 
from  which  he  shall  derive  a  fair  advantage.  I  shall  cheer- 
fully recommend  to  him  such  an  arrangement. 

Respectfully, 

R.  W.  Emerson. 

Carlyle  writes  to  Emerson  under  date  of  April  18,  1846: 

.  .  .  Certainly  I  will  conform  in  an  points  to  this  Wiley-and- 
Putnam  Treaty,  and  faithfully  observe  the  same.  ...  I  hope 
before  May  3d  I  shall  have  ascertained  whether  it  will  not  be 
the  simplest  way  (as  with  my  present  light  it  clearly  appears) 
to  give  the  sheets  direct  to  the  Wiley  and  Putnam  here,  and 
let  them  send  them?  In  any  case,  the  cargo  shall  come  one 
way  or  other. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  Carlyle  writes  again: 

Here  is  the  Photograph  going  off  for  you  by  Bookseller 
Munroe  of  Boston;  the  Sheets  of  Cromwell,  all  the  second  and 
part  of  the  last  volume,  are  to  go  direct  to  New  York:  both 
Parcels  by  the  Putnam  conveyance.  For  Putnam  has  been 
here  since  I  wrote,  making  large  confirmations  of  what  you 
conveyed  to  me;  and  large  Proposals  of  an  ulterior  scope, — 
which  will  involve  you  in  new  trouble  for  me.  But  it  is  trouble 
you  will  not  grudge,  inasmuch  as  it  promises  to  have  some 
issue  of  moment ;  at  all  events  the  negociation  is  laid  entirely 
into  your  hands:  therefore  I  must  with  all  despatch  explain 
to  you  the  essentials  of  it,  that  you  may  know  what  Wiley 
says  when  he  writes  to  you  from  New  York.  Mr.  Putnam, 
who  seems  to  me  a  very  intelligent,  modest,  and  reputable- 
looking  fellow,  got  at  last  to  sight  of  me  about  a  week  ago; — ■ 


104  George  Palmer  Putnam 

explained  with  much  earnestness  how  the  whole  origin  of  the 
mistake  about  the  First  Edition  of  Cromwell  had  lain  with 
Chapman,  my  own  Bookseller  (which  in  fact  I  had  already 
perceived  to  be  the  case) ;  and  further  set  forth,  what  was  much 
more  important,  that  he  and  his  Partner  were,  and  had  been, 
ready  and  desirous  to  make  good  said  mistake,  in  the  amplest, 
most  satisfactory  manner, — by  the  ready  method  of  paying 
me  now  ten  per  cent,  on  the  selling  price  of  all  the  copies  of 
Cromwell  sent  into  the  market  by  them ;  and  had  (as  I  knew 
already)  covenanted  with  you  to  do  so,  in  a  clear,  bona-fide, 
and  to  you  satisfactory  manner,  in  regard  to  that  First  Edition : 
in  consequence  of  which  you  had  made  a  bargain  with  them  of 
like  tenor  in  regard  to  the  second.  To  all  which  I  could  only 
answer,  that  such  conduct  was  that  of  men  of  honour,  and 
would,  in  all  manner  of  respects,  be  satisfactory  to  me.  Where- 
fore the  new  Sheets  of  Cromwell  should  now  go  by  Package 
direct  to  New  York,  .  .  .  "Yes,  surely,"  said  Putnam,  but 
there  were  other  consequences,  of  more  moment,  behind  that. 
Namely,  that  they  (the  Wiley  &  Putnam  House),  wanted 
to  publish  certain  other  Books  of  mine,  the  List  of  which  I  do 
not  now  recollect ;  under  similar  conditions:  viz.,  that  I  was  to 
certify,  in  a  line  or  two  prefixable  to  each  Book,  that  I  had  read 
it  over  in  preparation  for  their  Printer  and  did  authorise  them 
to  print  and  sell  it; — in  return  for  which  Ten  per  cent,  on  the 
sale  price  (and  all  manner  of  facilities,  volunteered  to  convince 
even  Clark  of  Boston,  the  Lynx-eyed  Friend  now  busy  for  me 
looking  through  millstones,  that  all  was  straight,  and  said  Ten 
per  cent,  actually  paid  on  every  copy  sold) .  This  was  Putnam's 
Offer,  stated  with  all  transparency,  and  in  a  way  not  to  be 
misunderstood  by  either  of  us  .  .  .  Mr.  Putnam  would  have 
had  some  "Letter,"  some  "exchange  of  Letters,"  to  the  effect 
above  stated:  but  I  answered,  "  It  was  better  we  did  not  write 
at  all  till  the  matter  was  clear  and  liquid  with  you,  and  then 
we  could  very  swiftly  write, — and  act."  .  .  .  This  is  a  true 
picture  of  the  affair,  the  very  truest  I  can  write  in  haste;  and 
so  I  leave  it  with  you — Ach  Gott! 

Emerson  writes  to  Carlyle,  May  31,  1846: 


Emerson  and  Carlyle  105 

...  I  am  heartily  glad  that  you  are  in  direct  communica- 
tion with  these  really  energetic  booksellers,  Wiley  and  Putnam. 
I  understood  from  Wiley's  letter  to  me,  weeks  ago,  that  their 
ambition  was  not  less  than  to  have  a  monopoly  of  your  books. 
I  answered,  it  is  very  desirable  for  us  too.  .  .  .  The  French 
Revolution,  Past  and  Present,  Chartism,  and  the  Sartor,  I  see 
no  reason  why  they  should  not  have.  Munroe  and  L.  &  B. 
have  no  real  claims  and  I  will  speak  to  them.  But  there  is 
one  good  particular  in  Putnam's  proffer  to  you,  which  Wiley 
has  not  established  in  his  "first  and  last"  agreement  with  me, 
namely,  that  you  shall  have  an  interest  in  what  is  already  sold 
of  their  first  edition  of  Cromwell.  By  all  means  close  with 
Putnam  of  the  good  mind.  .  .  . 

Carlyle  writes,  June  18,  1846: 

.  .  .  Yesterday  Putnam  was  here,  and  we  made  our  bargain. 
...  I  have  given  Putnam  two  Books  {Heroes  and  Sartor) 
ready,  corrected,  the  others  I  think  will  follow  in  the  course 
of  next  month.  .  .  .  Directly  after  this,  I  set  off  for  Putnam's 
in  Waterloo  Place;  sign  his  paper  there,  stick  one  copy  under 
a  cover  for  you,  and  despatch.  ...  Be  busy,  be  still  and 
happy. 

Emerson  to  Carlyle,  July  15,  1846: 

Dear  Carlyle: 

I  received  by  the  last  steamer  your  letter  with  the  copy  of 
the  covenant  with  Wiley  and  Putnam,  which  seems  unex- 
ceptionable. I  like  the  English  side  of  those  men  very  well ; 
that  is,  Putnam  seems  eager  to  stand  well  and  rightly  with 
his  fellow-men.  Wiley  at  New  York  it  was  who  provoked  me, 
last  winter,  to  write  him  an  angry  letter  when  he  declared  his 
intention  to  reprint  our  new  matter  without  paying  for  it. 
When  he  thought  better  of  it,  and  came  to  terms,  I  had  not 
got  so  far  as  to  be  affectionate.  ...  I  learn  that  Munroe  has 
bought  the  stereotype  plates  of  the  New  York  pirate  edition 
of  Sartor  and  means  to  print  it  immediately.     He  is  willing 


106  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

to  stop  if  W.  &  P.  will  buy  of  him  his  plates  at  their  cost  but 
they  say  no. 

The  Wiley  &  Putnam  Edition  of  the  Carlyle  writings 
came  into  the  hands  of  the  junior  partner  at  the  dissolution 
in  1848  and  was  thereafter  known  as  the  Putnam  Edition. 
It  was  published  in  four  volumes.  In  1857,  the  plates 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Harpers.  Twenty  years 
later,  when  question  came  up  between  the  Harpers  and 
Scribners  in  regard  to  the  right  to  control  the  Carlyle 
material  in  sets,  this  earlier  correspondence  showing  the 
authorisation  under  which  the  Putnam  volumes  had  been 
issued,  an  authorisation  of  which  the  Harpers,  the  later 
owners  of  the  plates,  were  entitled  to  the  advantage, 
became  important. 

It  remains  only  to  add  that  Carlyle  was  himself  able 
to  send  some  modest  remittances  to  Emerson  as  results  of 
the  sales  in  Great  Britain  of  authorised  editions  of  certain 
of  the  earlier  volumes  of  essays.  Here,  too,  there  was 
immediate  difficulty  with  the  pirates  as  soon  as  the  vol- 
umes came  into  demand,  and  before  long  the  sale  of  the 
authorised  editions  became  so  far  unprofitable  that  the 
remittances  ceased  altogether. 


CHAPTER  V 
Migration  to  New  YorK 

IN  June,  1847,  the  Putnam  family,  then  comprising,  in 
addition  to  the  parents,  three  children  and  the 
very  much  valued  English  nurse,  embarked  from 
Liverpool  for  New  York  on  the  packet  ship  Margaret 
Evans.  The  vessel  was  a  good  example  of  the  old- 
fashioned  sailing  packets  which,  even  as  late  as  the  early 
fifties,  still  took  care  of  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
passenger  travel  across  the  North  Atlantic.  The  steamers 
(described  as  "steam-packets")  were  comparatively  few 
in  number  and  their  trips  were  necessarily  made  at  con- 
siderable intervals.  The  cost  of  the  trip  by  steam  was  also 
much  greater  (if  I  remember  rightly  not  less  than  double) 
than  that  of  the  voyage  by  the  sailing  vessel.  There  was 
the  further  consideration  with  not  a  few  of  the  passengers, 
that  voyaging  by  steam  still  carried  with  it  something  of 
a  weird  and  exceptionally  dangerous  character.  It  seemed 
to  many  that  the  ordinary  risks  of  the  ocean  had  now  had 
added  to  them  a  number  of  special  perils,  which  could  be 
still  less  easily  understood  by  landsmen  and  which  natur- 
ally carried  with  them  the  greater  dread  belonging  to  the 
unknown.  The  American  sailing  packets  had  won  for 
themselves  a  well-deserved  prestige,  not  only  for  the  sea- 
manship with  which  they  were  handled,  but  for  the  care 
given  to  the  comfort  and  surroundings  of  the  passengers. 

107 


108  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

The  captains  of  these  packets  belonged  to  the  best  type 
of  American  seamen,  and,  in  fact,  in  the  greater  number  of 
vessels,  they  were  good  representatives  also  of  the  Ameri- 
can gentleman.  Captain  Tinker,  of  the  Margaret  Evans, 
had  in  the  course  of  a  service  of  half  a  lifetime  between 
England  and  the  United  States  made  for  himself  a  great 
number  of  cordial  friends  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
My  father  had  crossed  with  him  a  number  of  times,  and 
years  after  the  captain  had  retired  from  the  sea  the  friendly 
relations  between  them  continued.  My  mother  described 
the  voyage  later  to  us  as  having  been  attended  by  all  the 
discomforts  of  the  long  passage.  It  is  my  impression  that 
the  trip  lasted  about  forty  days.  The  fatigue  of  such  a 
journey  for  the  mother  must  have  been  serious. 

On  the  arrival  in  New  York  in  June,  my  father  must 
have  had  on  his  shoulders  a  special  accumulation  of  labour 
and  responsibility.  He  had  to  complete  the  arrangements 
for  the  dissolution  of  partnership  with  Mr.  Wiley  and  for 
establishing  the  foundations  of  the  new  business  to  be 
conducted  by  himself.  He  also  had  to  find  a  home  for 
the  family;  while  for  my  mother,  whose  housekeeping 
experience  had  been  limited  to  London,  the  methods  of 
household  arrangements  in  and  about  New  York  were 
perplexing  in  more  ways  than  one,  and  struck  the  young 
housekeeper  as  especially  dreadful  in  the  matter  of  ex- 
pense. The  question  of  expenditure  for  the  family  was  of 
the  more  importance  as  the  capital  that  my  father  was 
to  secure  from  the  firm  of  Wiley  &  Putnam  came  to  him 
almost  entirely  in  the  form  of  books. 

In  connection  with  the  requirements  of  the  new  business, 
it  was  necessary  to  shape  the  details  of  the  home  on  a 
modest  scale.  A  cottage  in  the  form  then  described  as 
"semi-detached"  was  taken  in  the  village  of  Stapleton, 
Staten  Island.  Those  who  to-day  know  this  region 
only  as  a  group  of  lager-beer  saloons  and  unattractive 


Staten  Island  109 

houses  of  the  smaller  kind  can  hardly  realise  how  beautiful 
were  the  surroundings  in  1847  of  the  little  village 
that  nestled  under  the  slope  of  the  Staten  Island  hills,  and 
from  which  there  were  varied  views  of  the  bay  stretching 
across  to  Long  Island  and  to  the  city.  The  cottage  was  a 
few  hundred  feet  from  the  quarantine  hospital,  where  a 
year  or  two  earlier  had  occurred  a  riot  instigated  by  the 
indignation  of  the  Staten  Islanders  at  having  placed  in 
their  midst  patients  with  diseases  supposed  to  be  con- 
tagious. I  do  not  know  how  exaggerated  the  dread  of  the 
islanders  may  have  been,  but  they  acted  with  a  fierceness 
of  decision  which  was  at  that  time  a  novelty  in  the  quiet 
life  of  New  York.  The  fever  patients  were  carried  out  of 
the  hospital  during  the  night  (which  was  fortunately  warm 
and  quiet),  and,  wrapped  in  blankets,  were  left  in  well- 
protected  fields  near  the  hospital,  while  the  building  itself 
was  very  thoroughly  destroyed  by  fire.  As  I  remember 
reading  the  record  later,  the  patients  (who  were  certainly 
not  themselves  to  be  blamed  for  being  undesirable  neigh- 
bours) did  not  suffer  either  from  the  shock  or  from  the 
exposure.  The  State  authorities  made  arrangements  for 
their  transfer  to  a  small  island  in  the  lower  harbour,  which 
has  since  been  devoted  to  diseases  supposed  to  be  con- 
tagious ;  and  no  attempts  were  ever  made  to  replace  for  this 
particular  service  the  hospital  buildings  at  Stapleton. 
The  ringleaders  of  the  riot  were  threatened  with  various 
serious  results,  but  they  were  either  never  fairly  identified 
or,  having  come  to  be  known  as  including  some  of  the  best 
citizens  of  the  community,  the  authorities  decided  that 
prosecution  would  not  under  the  circumstances  be  wise. 
The  bill  covering  the  value  of  the  buildings  was  paid  by  a 
tax  on  Richmond  County,  and  it  was  doubtless  considered 
a  profitable  expenditure.  The  substantial  buildings  which 
finally  replaced  the  old  quarantine  were  assigned  to  the 
care  of  hospital  patients  of  a  milder  variety. 


110  George  Palmer  Putnam 

The  communication  between  Staten  Island  and  the  city 
had,  not  many  years  back  from  the  date  in  question,  been 
carried  on  by  sloops  or  catboats.  As  is  well  known  to  all 
New  Yorkers  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  the  community,  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  the 
founder  of  the  great  family,  began  his  own  operations  in 
transportation  by  establishing  a  catboat  ferry  from  New 
Brighton  to  the  Battery.  It  was  from  the  management 
of  these  boats  that  there  came  to  Vanderbilt  the  name 
"Commodore,"  a  name  which  seemed  some  years  later, 
when  he  was  controlling  great  fleets  of  steamships,  to  be 
appropriate  enough.  In  1849,  the  catboats  and  sloops 
had  been  replaced  by  a  steam  ferry,  which  carried  its 
passengers  with  a  fair  degree  of  promptness  and  regularity, 
at  least  when  the  weather  was  fair  and  the  bay  was  free 
from  ice.  It  is  my  memory,  however,  that  in  certain 
winter  seasons,  when  the  ice-floes  brought  down  from  the 
Hudson  had  gathered  across  the  space  south-east  of  New 
York  island,  these  boats,  with  engines  that  would  to-day 
be  considered  puny,  were  often  delayed  for  hours  in  more 
or  less  fruitless  attempts  to  break  through  the  floes  and 
reach  their  docks.  I  have  memory  also  of  the  boats  being 
once  or  twice  carried  out  by  the  floes  to  the  lower  harbour. 
It  is  probable  that  they  were  saved  from  the  disaster  that 
would  have  resulted  if  they  had  passed  Sandy  Hook,  by 
the  breaking  up  of  the  floes  under  the  action  of  the  tides  at 
the  outer  bar. 

In  the  spring  of  1848,  my  father  was  again  in  London 
for  a  few  weeks.  There  were  some  unsettled  affairs  of  his 
old  business  requiring  attention,  while  it  was  also  impor- 
tant for  him  to  establish  connections  for  his  own  new 
concern. 

During  this  year  of  residence  in  London,  my  father  was 
utilised  from  time  to  time  as  a  connecting  link  between 
the  literary  circles  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic.     I  have 


Literary  Relations  Hi 

already  referred  to  his  correspondence  with  one  or  two 
New  York  papers.  Apart  from  that,  he  appears  to  have 
transmitted,  from  time  to  time,  to  one  or  two  of  the 
American  publishers  who  were  interested  in  transatlantic 
literature,  reports  as  to  forthcoming  literary  undertakings 
(presumably  such  as  might  not  have  been  found  available 
for  the  list  of  Wiley  &  Putnam) . 

In  July,  1844,  Harrison  Ainsworth  makes  announcement 
of  a  work  that  he  has  in  preparation,  to  be  written  on  the 
plan  of  Sue's  Mysteries  of  Paris,  and  to  be  entitled  Revolu- 
tions of  London.  Publication  of  the  papers  was  begun  in 
Ainsworth' s  Magazine,  but  I  do  not  recall  in  the  long  list  of 
Ainsworth's  novels  any  bearing  this  title.  The  corre- 
spondence volume  contains  under  the  date  of  November 
15,  1845,  the  playbills  of  two  performances  given  by  the 
famous  company  conducted  by  Charles  Dickens  and  Mark 
Lemon,  which  for  some  years  presented  what  was  probably 
the  best  amateur  acting  that  England  had  seen.  These 
particular  performances  were  given  in  the  St.  James 
Theatre  and  "His  Royal  Highness  Prince  Albert  had  been 
pleased  to  express  the  intention  to  honour  the  performance 
with  his  presence."  The  play  was  Jonson's  Every  Man  in 
his  own  Humour.  The  list  of  actors  includes,  in  addition 
to  the  two  managers,  H.  Mayhew,  Frederic  Dickens, 
Douglas  Jerrold,  John  Leech,  and  Miss  Fortesque.  The 
proceeds  of  the  performance  were  to  be  utilised  as  a  build- 
ing fund  for  a  sanatorium  for  literary  and  artistic  workers. 
My  father  notes  that  he  had  as  a  companion  at  this  per- 
formance Nathaniel  P.  Willis.  It  was  probably  during 
this  sojourn  in  England  that  Mr.  Willis,  who  was  very 
hospitably  received  by  a  number  of  pleasant  and  distin- 
guished English  families,  gave  offence  to  his  hosts  by  too 
frank  a  description  of  themselves  and  their  affairs  in  the 
letters  printed  in  his  New  York  paper,  the  Home  Journal. 

In  April,  1855,  is  recorded  a  long  (and  very  illegible) 


112  George  Palmer  Putnam 

letter  from  Fredrika  Bremer.  Farther  on  in  this  narra- 
tive will  be  found  the  reference  to  my  father's  publication 
of  the  authorised  American  editions  of  the  books  of  this 
charming  Swedish  author.  Her  English  is  much  better 
than  her  script.  In  June,  1855,  I  find  the  copy  of  a  long 
letter  from  my  father  to  Miss  Bremer  in  which  he  reports 
that  in  connection  with  the  competition  of  the  unau- 
thorised Harper  editions,  he  has  been  not  a  little  disap- 
pointed in  the  returns  from  his  own  authorised  issues  of  her 
books.  He  fears  that  she  can  look  for  no  further  returns 
from  the  American  sales.  He  sends,  in  addition  to  the 
settlement  of  the  amount  due,  a  selection  of  a  few  of  his 
recent  publications  which  he  hopes  she  may  be  interested 
in  adding  to  her  library,  the  selection  including  the  vol- 
umes of  the  Magazine,  a  set  of  Irving's  Works,  Downing's 
Rural  Essays,  etc. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  1846,  Carlyle  writes  to  my  father 
a  letter  of  which  the  following  is  a  summary  and  in  part  a 
citation : 

I  have  this  day  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Emerson  by  which 
I  gather  that  he  seems  to  think  there  is,  except  in  the  case  of 
Mr.  Hart  of  Philadelphia  and  the  Miscellanies,  nothing  to 
prevent  my  engaging  with  your  firm  in  the  way  you  propose. 

He  goes  on  to  make  reference  to  my  father's  proposition 
to  pay  a  royalty  on  the  Cromwell  and  on  certain  further 
books  which  were  recommended  by  Mr.  Emerson  as 
available  for  the  American  market.  On  Emerson's  sug- 
gestion, Carlyle  appointed  Mr.  E.  P.  Clark  of  the  New 
England  Bank  of  Boston  to  supervise  on  his  behalf  these 
authorised  American  editions.     He  goes  on  to  say: 

I  have  had  two  of  the  books,  Sartor  and  Heroes,  carefully 
revised  for  your  printer.  Copies  for  him  arc  now  in  readiness 
precisely  identical  with  those  that  our  English  printer  will 


Carlyle  113 

bring  out  when  new  editions  are  arranged  by  ourselves.  The 
French  Revolution  I  have  also  revised  in  the  same  manner  and 
am  now  getting  an  Index  made  of  which  you  in  America  will 
have  the  benefit.  We  in  England  will  copy  you  when  our  time 
comes.  ...  In  Past  and  Present  (second  English  edition), 
I  have  no  change  at  all  to  make;  if  it  is  necessary  for  form's 
sake,  I  will  read  the  book  over  but  I  believe  I  can  be  of  no 
benefit  to  it.  My  printer  (an  excellent  artist  in  his  line) 
printed  the  last  time  without  any  proof  sheets  shown,  and  will 
again,  in  this  and  the  other  cases  that  concern  us,  so  print. 
For  the  rest  as  I  understand  it,  I  have  to  announce  at  the 
beginning  of  each  book  "that  I  have  read  this  book  for  the 
behoof  of  your  printer  and  that  I  authorise  you  (so  far  as  I  have 
any  authority)  and  you  alone,  to  print  and  to  vend  the  same 
for  me  in  the  United  States."  Those  I  consider  the  main 
elements  of  what  I  hope  will  now  straightway  be  an  agree- 
ment between  us.  .  .  .  Believe  me, 

Yours  very  truly, 

T.  Carlyle. 

This  was,  with  the  exception  of  an  arrangement  with 
Hart  of  Philadelphia  for  two  volumes  of  Miscellanies,  the 
first  agreement  that  Carlyle  had  in  force  with  the  States 
for  authorised  editions  of  his  works.  His  own  authorisa- 
tion could,  of  course,  not  prevent  the  competition  of  un- 
authorised issues,  and  as  these  last  were  sold  at  cheap 
competing  prices,  it  is  probable  that  the  margin  of  profit 
for  his  publisher  was  neither  considerable  nor  assured. 

In  January,  1852,  I  find  a  letter  from  Mary  Cowden 
Clarke,  whose  correspondence  continued  over  a  long  series 
of  years  and  who  was  held  in  very  valued  friendship.  She 
is  introducing  to  my  father  Mr.  Robert  Balmanno,  whose 
association  with  the  family  continued  for  a  series  of  years. 
Mr.  Balmanno  had  interested  himself  in  getting  into  shape 
a  testimonial  for  Mrs.  Clarke  as  the  author  of  the  Con- 
cordance to  Shakespeare.  He  writes,  in  1852,  that  the 
affair  has  occupied  so  much  of  his  time  and  has  caused  him 


H4  George  Palmer  Putnam 

so  much  botheration  that  his  wife  (in  view  apparently  both 
of  his  devotion  to  Mrs.  Clarke  and  of  some  loss  of  temper) 
dubs  him  "Mrs.  Clarke's  testy-menial." 

Mrs.  Clarke  was  a  valued  member  of  the  Dickens 
amateur  dramatic  company.  In  her  volume  of  Reminis- 
cences, printed,  I  believe,  in  1896  (the  year  before  her 
death) ,  she  refers  to  the  weeks  spent  with  this  company 
during  a  tour  through  the  Provinces  as  the  most  enjoyable 
she  can  remember  in  her  lifetime.  The  English  testi- 
monial was,  it  seems,  duplicated  by  one  emanating  from 
her  American  admirers,  the  printed  list  for  which  includes 
some  two  hundred  and  fifty  names.  In  bringing  the 
matter  to  the  attention  of  Mrs.  Clarke's  American  friends, 
my  father  gave  active  help  to  Mr.  Balmanno.  The  latter 
makes  reference  to  the  "subscriptions  per  Mr.  Putnam's 
book."  The  American  testimonial  took  the  shape  of  a 
chair,  which  was  made  by  M.  W.  King  &  Sons. 

In  July,  1846,  Mary  0.  Pickering  writes  to  Elizabeth 
Peabody,  my  father's  cousin,  an  appreciative  acknowledg- 
ment of  some  service  that  my  father  had  rendered  in  behalf 
of  her  "father's  just  rights  and  literary  reputation."  Mr. 
Pickering  had,  it  seems,  died  in  May  of  the  same  year. 
She  goes  on  to  say,  "it  may  be  gratifying  to  Mr.  Putnam 
to  know  that  the  course  which  he  took  in  England  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Greek  Lexicon  has  met  with  the  approbation  of 
two  of  my  father's  most  intimate  friends,  Mr.  William  H. 
Prescott  and  Professor  Edward  Robinson."  It  appears 
from  a  later  letter  that  Mr.  Pickering  had  found  cause  for 
annoyance  at  the  use,  without  credit  to  himself,  by  certain 
British  scholars,  of  the  material  in  his  Greek  Lexicon.  In 
the  volume  American  Facts  previously  referred  to,  my 
father  had  printed  a  list  of  American  books  which  had  been 
"appropriated"  in  Great  Britain,  and  in  this  list  had 
included  the  Pickering  Lexicon  and  the  specification  of  the 
English  work  which  had  taken  advantage  of  Mr.  Picker- 


"Appropriations"  iJ5 

ing's  labours.  The  editor  of  the  latter,  Professor  George 
Dunbar,  writes  to  Wiley  &  Putnam  from  Edinburgh, 
February  23,  1846,  making  some  rather  bitter  reference 
to  this  statement  in  American  Facts.  He  calls  it  "a 
calumnious  paragraph,"  and  in  a  printed  letter  which 
accompanied  the  written  one  (and  which  I  do  not  find  in 
the  file)  he  appears  to  have  thought  it  in  order  to  defend 
the  use  of  American  literary  material  on  the  ground  that 
one  or  more  American  States  had  "appropriated,"  through 
the  repudiation  of  the  interest  on  their  bonds,  moneys 
belonging  to  British  citizens.  The  written  letter  received 
its  own  acknowledgment.  The  printed  one  was  properly 
enough  answered  in  print.  I  think  it  worth  while  to  give 
the  text  of  the  reply  in  full  as  it  shows  the  pains  that  my 
father  had  taken,  first,  to  make  his  original  statement 
accurate,  and,  second,  to  support  it  when  attacked.  It 
also  indicates  the  difficulty  that  any  American  had  at  that 
time  in  making  good  a  record  for  American  fair-dealing, 
in  face  of  the  dishonest  treatment  of  their  bondholders  by 
the  States  of  Pennsylvania,  Minnesota,  and  Mississippi. 
My  father  is,  of  course,  quite  sound  in  his  contention  that 
the  action  of  these  State  governments,  indefensible  as  it 
was,  did  not  constitute  a  legitimate  excuse  for  a  theft  by  a 
British  professor  of  the  work  done  by  a  scholarly  American. 

"AMERICAN  FACTS." 

To  the  Editor  of  the  "Edinburgh  Evening  Post"  and 
"Scottish  Record." 
Sir:  Will  you  kindly  permit  me  to  make  one  or  two  sug- 
gestions in  reference  to  Professor  Dunbar's  letter  to  you,  com- 
plaining of  a  paragraph  in  the  volume  entitled  American  Facts? 
I  regret  extremely  that  this  paragraph  should  have  given 
personal  offence.  It  was  not  so  intended;  but  simply  as  one 
of  a  series  of  instances  showing  that  omissions  of  proper  credit 
for  literary  materials  are  not  confined  to  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic. 


Ii6  George   Palmer  Putnam 

Professor  Dunbar  remarks  that  his  first  edition  did  contain 
an  acknowledgment  of  the  use  of  Mr.  Pickering's  work,  and 
intimates  that  therefore  there  was  no  necessity  for  a  repetition 
of  his  name  in  the  second.  But,  sir,  is  it  not  probable  that 
many  who  possess  the  second  edition  might  forget  what  was 
said  in  a  preface  several  years  ago?  and  more  probable  still, 
that  many  more  who  own  the  present  work,  never  saw  the 
first  edition? 

In  reference  to  Professor  Dunbar's  intimation  that  Mr. 
Pickering  could  not  feel  aggrieved,  he  having  acknowledged 
the  receipt  of  a  copy  of  the  Lexicon,  I  beg  to  say  that  Mr. 
Pickering  himself,  knowing  that  I  had  printed  some  statistical 
notes  of  this  kind,  voluntarily  mentioned  to  me  the  substance 
of  the  paragraph  in  question,  and  complained  of  the  circum- 
stance as  unjust  to  himself;  and  intimated  also  the  propriety 
of  mentioning  this  and  other  like  cases  in  some  way  which 
would  draw  attention  to  the  practice. 

For  myself,  not  being  learned  in  Greek  lexicography,  I  do 
not  presume  to  discuss  its  details,  or  the  exact  boundaries  be- 
tween originality  and  such  compilation  as  should  be  credited  to 
its  sources;  but  the  present  case  appears  to  stand  thus:  An 
author  takes  up  a  work  which  he  finds  contains  materials 
furnished  by  himself;  he  refers  to  the  preface;  but  although 
credit  is  there  given  to  various  authorities  and  aids,  he  finds 
no  mention  whatever  of  his  own  work,  which  has  furnished  its 
quota  with  the  rest ;  he  is  told  that  a  former  volume  published 
some  years  ago  did  give  him  credit ;  but  would  he  naturally  be 
contented  with  such  a  reply? 

An  international  arrangement  as  to  copyright  would  prevent 
jealousies  of  this  sort;  as  a  young  member  of  the  trade  in  the 
United  States,  I  have  done  my  part  in  promoting  this  object. 
Meanwhile,  American  literature  may  most  properly  be  levied 
upon  as  far  as  it  goes,  to  return,  in  part,  the  American  obliga- 
tions to  Great  Britain.  American  authors  are  gratified  when 
they  can  do  this;  they  have  no  objections  to  being  enrolled 
among  their  British  cousins  in  the  London  catalogue;  they 
only  ask,  that  what  they  do  contribute  may  be  properly 
credited  on  the  right  side  of  the  account  current.     If  this  was 


THe  Precursor  Society  117 

always  done,  a  larger  amount  would  stand  on  that  side  than 
is  usually  supposed. 

I  must  beg  leave  to  add  that  Professor  Dunbar's  "repudiat- 
ing" remark  seems  to  be  sufficiently  answered  in  his  own  letter. 
If  he  had  taken  the  trouble  to  look  farther  into  facts,  the  learned 
Professor  might  have  seen  that  his  admitted  failure  to  repay 
the  interest  due  in  this  little  account  of  borrowed  Greek  roots 
is  even  far  less  unfair  than  his  sneering  imputation  in  regard  to 
American  debts;  an  imputation  which  has  been  stereotyped, 
but  which  Professor  Dunbar  has  gone  out  of  his  way  to  endorse, 
by  adroitly  mixing  it  with  an  entirely  different  question.  I 
am,  Sir,  &c, 

The  Compiler  of  "American  Facts." 
London,  March  2,  1846. 

A  letter  dated  December  13,  1844,  coming  from  the  office 
of  the  "Privy  Council  for  Trade"  and  signed  "MacGregor," 
serves  as  a  reminder  that,  at  the  date  in  question,  Great 
Britain  was  still  including  in  the  series  of  dutiable  articles, 
books  and  engravings,  a  policy  which  was,  as  we  know, 
abandoned  not  very  many  years  later.  It  appears  that 
Wiley  &  Putnam  were  reprinting  for  English  sale  a  work 
on  weaving  which  had  originated  in  the  States.  For  this 
English  edition  they  were  importing  impressions  of  the 
engravings.  The  duty  on  engravings  was  higher  than 
that  on  books.  They  submitted  the  contention  that  as 
these  engravings  were  imported  solely  for  the  use  of  this 
book  and  would  constitute,  therefore,  a  portion  of  the 
book,  they  ought  not  to  be  assessed  at  a  higher  rate  of  duty 
than  that  provided  for  books.  Their  contention  wras 
accepted  and  the  duty  as  originally  assessed  was  reduced. 

In  May,  1838,  George  P.  Putnam,  having  paid  his  sub- 
scription of  one  shilling,  was  duly  enrolled  as  a  member 
of  the  Precursor  Society.  The  object  of  the  society  was, 
as  stated  in  the  enrolment  card,  "to  procure  from  the 
Imperial  Parliament  justice  for  Ireland."     The  printed 


n8  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

statement  of  the  society  presents  its  objects  and  rules, 
which  were  as  follows: 

I.  The  basis  and  first  object  of  the  Precursor  Society  is 
entire,  cordial,  devoted,  and  unchangeable  Loyalty 
and  Allegiance  to  her  Most  Gracious  Majesty,  Queen 
Victoria,  and  to  her  Heirs  and  Successors  forever. 
II.  To  place  the  Parliamentary  Franchises  and  rights  of 
voting  of  the  British  and  Irish  people  on  a  footing  of 
perfect  equality,  by  communicating  to  the  three  divi- 
sions of  the  United  Empire  all  that  is  valuable  and 
useful  in  the  Franchises  of  each  of  such  Divisions. 

III.  To  obtain  an  entire  Reform  of  our  Corporations,  iden- 
tical in  every  respect  with  the  English  Reform  Act. 

IV.  To  obtain  for  Ireland  a  reasonable,  just,  and  adequate 
proportion  of  Members  in  the  United  Parliament. 

V.  To  establish  in  Ireland  the  principle  which  practically 
exists  in  England  and  Scotland,  namely  that  the 
Majority  of  the  Inhabitants  should  not  be  called  upon 
to  contribute  in  any  way  to  the  Temporalities  of  the 
Church  of  the  Minority,  and  that  the  entire  of  the 
Tithe  Rent  Charge,  or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be 
found  just  and  reasonable,  should  be  appropriated 
to  purposes  of  Education  or  Charity  or  to  other 
purposes  of  general  utility;  so  that,  however,  no  part 
of  such  Rent  Charge,  Minister's  Money,  or  other 
Temporalities,  should  be  capable  of  being  allocated 
to  the  Clergy  of  any  portion  of  the  Irish  people. 
VI.  To  establish  the  mode  of  Voting  by  Ballot  throughout 
the  United  Kingdom,  that  being  the  only  mode  by 
which  the  Voters  can  safely  and  without  temptation 
to  crime,  exercise  the  Elective  Franchise. 
VII.  To  support  every  safe,  prudent,  and  practicable  ex- 
tension of  the  Elective  Franchise. 
VIII.  The  Precursor  Society  will  also  co-operate  with  the 
Reformers  in  obtaining  a  Shortening  of  the  Duration 
of  Parliament,  so  as  not  to  exceed  a  duration  of  three 
years. 


THe  Precursor  Society  H9 

Of  these  several  objects,  the  greater  number  have  been 
brought  about  during  the  seventy-four  years  since  the 
date  of  my  father's  membership.  How  far  these  reforms 
were  due  to  the  society,  or  how  far  the  successful  activity  of 
the  society  may  have  been  furthered  by  my  father's  shil- 
ling and  co-operation ,  is  not  a  matter  of  record .  The  ob j ect 
specified  eighth  in  the  list,  the  shortening  of  the  duration  of 
Parliament  so  as  not  to  exceed  a  term  of  three  years,  does 
not  seem  to  be  any  nearer  accomplishment  than  in  1838. 
The  placing  of  Irish  voters  on  a  footing  with  those  of  Eng- 
land in  regard  to  Parliamentary  representation  has  accord- 
ing to  present  Parliamentary  statistics,  been  somewhat 
■overdone.  It  appears  that  when  the  next  reform  of 
Parliament  is  brought  about,  if  the  redistribution  is  made 
strictly  according  to  the  proportionate  numbers  of  the 
constituencies,  there  must  be  a  substantial  reduction  in  the 
representation  from  Ireland. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  1872,  Elisee  Reclus  writes  from 
Zurich  to  make  special  acknowledgment  to  my  father  for 
the  part  taken  by  him  in  helping  to  secure  from  President 
Thiers  the  remission  of  the  sentence  of  banishment  to  New 
Caledonia  which  had  been  passed  upon  him  after  the  fall 
of  the  Commune.  The  initiative  in  regard  to  the  service 
referred  to  by  Reclus  had  been  taken  by  my  sister  Minnie, 
who,  during  the  larger  part  of  her  six  years'  sojourn  in 
Paris  had  been  an  inmate  of  the  Reclus  family  circle. 
These  years  included  the  strenuous  period  of  the  siege  of 
Paris  by  the  Germans  and  the  later  occupation  of  Paris 
by  the  Commune. 

A  very  faded  photograph,  which  is,  nevertheless,  suc- 
cessful in  presenting  the  characteristic  expression  of  a 
well-known  face,  precedes  a  letter  written  November  27, 
1852,  from  the  Clarendon  Hotel  in  New  York,  by  William 
M.  Thackeray.  Mr.  Thackeray  regrets  that  he  is  not  in  a 
position  to  accept  the ' '  very  generous  offer ' '  made  by  G.  P. 


120  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Putnam  &  Co.  for  the  republication  of  his  lectures,  as  he 
has  already  arrived  at  an  arrangement  with  the  Harpers 
for  the  volume.  The  lectures  were  those  on  the  "English 
Humourists  of  the  18th  Century,"  which  he  had  been  giv- 
ing in  several  of  the  Eastern  cities  under  the  direction,  if  I 
remember  rightly,  of  a  lecturers'  bureau.  He  closes  his 
letter  with  the  words:  "For  my  own  sake  as  well  as  for 
that  of  my  literary  brethren  in  England,  I  am  sincerely 
rejoiced  to  find  how  very  kindly  the  American  publishers 
are  disposed  towards  us." 

A  full-length  portrait  of  Charles  S.  Stratton  of  Bridge- 
port, known  as  "General  Tom  Thumb,"  reminds  me  that 
the  "  General "  brought  letters  of  introduction  to  my  father 
from  some  common  friends.  Before  he  had  become  a 
personage  of  world-wide  importance,  and  while  the 
arrangements  were  in  train  for  his  exhibitions  in  London, 
he  was  more  than  once  a  guest  at  Knickerbocker  Cottage. 
I  think  I  can  remember  (unless  I  am  confusing  my  memory 
with  the  accounts  given  to  me  later)  one  occasion  on  which 
the  "General"  took  tea  in  our  nursery  with  my  sister 
Minnie  and  myself.  He  had  a  doll's  table  placed  in  the 
middle  of  our  nursery  tea-table  and,  sitting  in  his  own 
chair,  he  was  in  convenient  position  for  talking  with  us 
youngsters.  I  remember  (or  I  was  told)  that  he  had 
plenty  to  say.  His  conversational  abilities  (he  was  at  this 
time  twelve  years  old)  were  undoubtedly  being  well  culti- 
vated by  Mr.  Barnum.  My  father  has  recorded  under 
this  picture  (it  is  in  the  uniform  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte) 
that  the  "General"  was  at  this  time  twenty-five  inches 
high  and  weighed  fifteen  pounds.  We  saw  him  some  years 
later  in  Barnum's  Museum  in  New  York,  when  he  was  a 
very  "big"  man  indeed,  although  he  had  added  but  an 
inch  or  two  to  his  stature. 

Martin  Farquhar  Tupper  writes  in  December,    1845, 
from  Guilford  in  regard  to  a  certain  "Critique  on  Poe," 


Martin  FarqxiHar  Tupper  121 

which  was  to  appear  in  next  Saturday's  Gazette,  and  the 
authorship  of  which  he  wishes  to  make  clear  as  his  own. 
He  says  further  that  he  has  in  preparation  a  complete 
edition  of  his  best  poems,  and  wants  to  know  whether  this 
will  suit  for  my  father's  series.  I  do  not  remember  that 
any  volume  of  Tupper's  poems  was  issued  with  the  imprint 
of  Wiley  &  Putnam,  although  they  included  in  their 
"Library  of  Choice  Reading"  an  edition  of  his  Proverbial 
Philosophy.  In  a  note  written  a  few  weeks  later,  Mr. 
Tupper  makes  reference  to  this  edition  as  having  been 
authorised  by  him  and  asks  for  some  copies  of  the  second 
printing  (with  some  corrections  that  he  forwards)  to  be 
sent  to  him  in  England.  If  Wiley  &  Putnam  could  have 
secured  the  entire  sales  in  the  States  for  the  Proverbial 
Philosophy,  they  would  have  had  in  their  hands  a  very 
good  piece  of  property  indeed.  It  is  probable  that 
between  1840  and  i860  a  larger  number  of  copies  of  the 
Proverbial  Philosophy  were  sold  in  the  United  States,  in 
all  the  editions,  authorised  as  well  as  unauthorised,  than 
of  any  single  volume  by  any  other  English  author. 
Mr.  Tupper's  "philosophy"  certainly  met  the  require- 
ments of  a  very  large  portion  of  the  readers  of  his 
generation.  Tupper  writes  again  on  the  23d  of  December, 
acknowledging  a  copy  of  father's  American  Facts. 
He  says: 

I  have  just  finished  the  book  which  has  at  once  delighted  and 
instructed  me.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  be  able  so  warmly  to  com- 
mend it,  as  in  all  sincerity  I  can  do.  To  praise  a  man  to  his 
face  is  but  a  clumsy  courtesy  and,  therefore,  I  will  spare  your 
modesty  respecting  the  mere  manner  of  the  work,  however 
creditable  to  you ;  but  its  matter  is  one  that  without  offence 
I  may  dwell  on  in  honest  approbation.  You  have  stated  in 
a  pleasant,  just,  and  temperate  spirit  "Facts"  which  may  well 
make  you  proud  of  your  native  land,  and  Facts  which  may 
render  the  philanthropists  of  every  shore  your  debtors.     I 


122  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

regret,  and  for  years  have  regretted,  the  many  pointed  insults 
offered  to  America  by  a  certain  forward  race  amongst  us;  my 
only  astonishment  has  been  that  they  are  so  warmly  and 
sensitively  taken  up;  it  has  always  appeared  to  me  that  you 
might  well  afford  to  laugh  at  or  neglect  them.     Not  but  that 
there  is  something  generous  in  your  acknowledged   "thin- 
skinnishness."     America,  like  a  right-hearted  youth,  earnestly 
though  secretly  looks  to  parental  England  for  praise  in  doing 
well,  and  the  fraud  of  praise  withheld,  or  worse,  perverted  into 
censure,  is  an  aching  disappointment.     Apathy  would  argue 
disrespect  and  disaffection;  these  be  far  from  you,  and  far  from 
us,  as  towards  each  other.     You  have  by  no  means  over- 
rated the  popular  ignorance  of  all  that  concerns  your  New 
World  amongst  us ;  but  we  have  one  really  fair  excuse  in  miti- 
gation, to  wit,  your  very  newness.     Ten  years  ago,  haply, 
Cincinnati  was  not;  possibly  ten  years  hence,  you  may  have  an 
enormous  Timbuctoo  with  a  hundred  churches  in  the  middle 
of  Missouri.     My  old  country  house  was  built  when  New 
York  and  New  Orleans  were  swamp  and  forest,  and  you  know 
how  philosophically  suitable  to  the  veneration  of  such  crea- 
tures of  change  and  chance  as  we  are,  is  the  magic  of  antiquity. 
If   your  Athens,  somewhere  in  Arkansas,  was  all  built  of 
Parthenons  and  Acropolises,  still  it  never  could  attain  one 
thousandth  part  of  the  glory  of  the  Attic  town  with  one.     Old 
time  makes  all  the  difference.     Our  ignorance  then  is  not 
merely  that  we  cannot  keep  pace  with  the  race  of  your  pros- 
perities, but  that  on  archaeological  principles,  we  even  feel 
an  inward  disinclination  to  believe  the  "facts"  unseen.     After 
all  is  said,  call  each  other  what  we  may,  America  and  England 
are  one  people;  language,  laws,  religion,  literature,  identity 
of  origin  and  history, — goodness,  here  are  ties  enow;  moreover 
you  are  not  black,  nor  we  cannibals.     For  my  own  part,  I 
boast  myself  a  genuine  Anglo-Saxon;  in  1550,  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.  complimented    my  direct  ancestor  in  the  tenth 
generation  by  expelling  him  from  Germany  for  Protestantism ; 
so  that,  whilst  I  dearly  love  England  and  her  institutions,  I 
claim  to  be  a  bit  of  a  cosmopolite.     Therefore,  as  one  of  the 
great  Anglo-Saxon  family,   I  have  sympathy   with   you   as 


Martin  Farquhar  Tupper  123 

brethren;  and  if  ever  my  good  star  sent  me  to  visit  you  over 
the  Atlantic,  my  verdict  (I  am  clear)  would  be  far  other  and 
truer  than  that  of  Dickens,  Trollope,  and  the  like. 

I  am  scribbling  this  at  midnight  somewhat  loosely,  and  ego- 
tistically too,  I  fear;  but  as  I  perceive  you  to  be  a  man  of  sense 
and  feeling,  I  am  sure  you  will  not  take  my  note  amiss.  Mr. 
Willis  and  yourself  are  the  only  Americans  I  have  personally 
encountered ;  and  you  make  me  respect  your  country. 

With  reference  to  your  literature,  it  may  interest  your 
patriotism  to  be  told  that  Moses  Stuart  and  Dr.  Robinson 
taught  me  my  little  Hebrew,  that  Abbott  helped  my  early 
Christian  course,  that  I  found  Anthon  a  vast  improvement 
on  the  old  classical  Lempriere,  and  that  "Peter  Parley"  now 
instructs  my  children. 

Having  prosed  sufficiently,  and  not  as  yet  having  thanked 
you  for  the  book  itself  (which  therefore  I  now  do),  I  remain 
My  dear  Sir, 

Very  faithfully  Yours, 

Martin  Farquhar  Tupper. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Beginning's  of  tHe  Publishing'  Business  in 
New  YorK 

MY  father  selected  as  his  first  place  of  business  a  shop 
at  155  Broadway.  This  portion  of  Broadway  was 
at  that  time  very  much  the  centre  of  the  business 
life  of  the  city,  and  was  not  very  distant  from  the  more 
fashionable  residence  district.  Barnum's  Museum  was 
established  on  the  corner  of  Ann  Street,  where  later  the 
first  Herald  Building  had  its  site.  The  Astor  House  had 
been  built  in  the  earlier  forties  and  was  the  most  note- 
worthy hotel  at  that  time  in  the  city.  The  New  York 
Hotel,  on  the  corner  of  Prince  Street,  was  quietly  fashion- 
able, although  it  was  considered  to  be  rather  far  uptown 
for  business  convenience.  The  old  residence  houses  in 
Houston  Street,  Bleecker  Street,  and  McDougal  Street 
were  still  occupied  by  some  of  the  "first  families," 
although  ventures  were  already  being  made  with  building 
on  the  district  known  as  Murray  Hill,  previously  occupied 
with  country  residences.  Columbia  College  occupied  a 
little  park  of  its  own,  adjoining  the  beautiful  green  of  the 
New  York  Hospital,  and  stretching  down  to  the  west 
towards  the  river.  Standing  on  Broadway  at  the  corner 
of  Pearl  Street,  one  could  look  through  the  trees  of  the 
hospital  grounds  and  of  the  college  grounds  to  the  waters 
of  the  river,  with  no  city  building  to  break  the  outlook. 
The  college  property  was  sold  in  '54  or  '55,  or  was  put  into 

124 


WasHington.  Irving'  125 

the  shape  of  ground  leases,  and  College  Place  runs  across 
what  was  once  the  centre  of  the  campus.  The  hospital 
grounds  retained  their  green  sward  and  trees  until  after 
the  Civil  War. 

The  Broadway  shop  did  not  contain  any  very  great 
amount  of  space,  but  the  stock  that  first  came  into  it  could 
hardly  have  filled  it  satisfactorily.  The  business  receipts 
for  the  first  year  or  two  depended  chiefly  on  the  sale  of 
books  and  periodicals  imported  from  London.  My 
father's  knowledge  of  the  London  market  and  his  connec- 
tions with  the  British  publishers  had  given  him  a  certain 
advantage  over  the  competing  importing  houses  in  New 
York,  which,  in  part  at  least,  compensated  for  his  lack  of 
capital.  The  beginning  of  his  business  as  an  independent 
publisher  may  be  credited,  however,  to  his  good  fortune 
and  good  judgment  in  coming  into  relations  with  Wash- 
ington Irving,  and  in  arranging  to  reprint  the  books  of 
Irving,  which  had  heretofore  been  issued  in  Philadelphia, 
with  the  privilege  of  adding  to  these  such  later  publications 
as  Irving  might  put  into  shape.  Irving  returned  to  New 
York  from  his  Ministry  to  Spain  in  the  same  year  in  which 
my  father  was  beginning  his  independent  business.  He 
had  been  appointed  Minister  by  the  Democratic  adminis- 
tration of  Mr.  Polk,  and  with  the  success  of  the  Whigs 
in  the  election  of  Zachary  Taylor  in  November,  1848,  his 
Ministry  (according  to  the  usual  rotation  in  office)  came 
to  an  end.  He  was  at  that  time  sixty-five  years  of  age. 
His  earlier  writings,  which  included  Knickerbocker, 
The  Sketch  Book,  Alhambra,  Columbus,  etc.,  had  secured 
for  him  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  literary  fame  and  a 
fair  commercial  return.  During  the  four  years  of  his 
second  sojourn  in  Spain,  however,  public  interest  in 
his  books  had  lessened  so  that  his  American  publishers, 
Carey,  Lea  &  Blanchard,  of  Philadelphia,  had  not  felt 
encouraged  to  keep  the  books  in  the  market,  and  had,  in 


126  George  Palmer  Putnam 

fact,  for  two  years  or  more  allowed  them  to  go  out  of  print 
altogether. 

Irving  had  been  treated  not  only  justly  but  liberally  by 
his  London  publishers,  John  Murray  and  Richard  Bentley, 
and  the  payments  that  came  to  him  from  England  had, 
during  the  earlier  years  at  least,  been  more  important 
than  those  which  were  secured  through  his  Philadelphia 
sales.  After  the  departure  of  Irving  from  London,  how- 
ever, the  authorised  editions  of  his  books  had  been  inter- 
fered with  by  the  competing  "piracy"  issues  of  Bohn. 
Murray  and  Bentley  became  discouraged  in  the  litigation 
that  ensued  for  the  protection  of  their  own  books,  and 
finally  abandoned  the  contest  and  left  the  "pirate"  Bohn 
in  possession  of  the  field.  This  brought  to  a  close  the 
receipts  to  the  author  from  his  English  sales. 

Irving  had  not  been  able  to  understand  through  the 
correspondence  that  reached  him  at  Madrid  just  what 
was  happening  with  his  books  in  Philadelphia,  and  had 
supposed  in  any  case  that  he  would  have  no  difficulty 
when  again  at  home  in  making  satisfactory  business 
arrangements  which  would  bring  his  books  into  renewed 
sale.  It  was,  therefore,  a  bitter  disappointment  to  be  met 
on  his  arrival  with  the  confirmation  of  the  decision  given 
to  him  some  months  back  by  the  Philadelphia  house,  that 
in  their  judgment  the  demand  for  his  writings  had  ceased 
and  that  there  would  be  no  profit  to  either  author  or 
publishers  in  making  further  attempts  to  keep  the  books 
in  the  market. 

My  father  had  had,  while  in  England,  an  opportunity 
of  coming  to  know  Mr.  Irving  and  had  found  himself 
keenly  interested  in  the  character  of  the  man.  It  is 
possible  that  this  personal  interest  had  something  to  do 
with  his  confidence  in  the  continued  value  of  Irving's 
writings.  With  the  memory  of  the  continued  popularity 
secured  for  these  in  England,  both  in  the  original  author- 


"WasHington   Irving  127 

ised  (and  rather  costly)   editions  of  Murray  and  in  the 
later  cheaper  issues  in  the  Bohn  Library,  he  was  not  a  little 
surprised    that    the    American    publishers    should    have 
decided  to  abandon  the  books  as  of  no  continued  value. 
It  was  his  own  belief  that  the  later  generation  would  be 
prepared  to  accept  these  books  as  belonging  to  the  classic 
literature  of  America  and  of  the  English-speaking  world. 
With  this  conviction,  he  wrote,  early  in   1848,  to  Mr. 
Irving,  proposing  to  undertake  the  reprinting  of  all  of  the 
books  at  that  time  in  existence,  and  suggesting  that  some 
of  these  could  possibly  be  revised  to  advantage  in  such 
manner  as  to  warrant  their  being  announced  as  new  edi- 
tions.    There  were  probably  no  plates  in  existence,  the 
Philadelphia  publishers  having  apparently  followed  the 
English  routine  of  printing  from  type.     It  is  quite  possible 
that  it  was  this  detail  which  stood  in  the  way  of  the  issue 
of  further  editions  by  the  Philadelphia  house.     If  the 
books  could  have  been  reprinted  from  plates,  it  is  probable 
that  Carey,  Lea  &  Blanchard  would  have  been  prepared 
to  meet  the  wishes  of  their  old-time  friend  and  author  by 
striking  off  small  impressions  of  the  books  and  making  the 
fresh  experiment,  upon  which  he  had  set  his  heart,  as  to 
their  continued  interest  for  the  readers  of  the  day.     Such 
reissue  involved,  of  course,  a  much  larger  expenditure  and 
risk  when  it  called  for  the  resetting  of  the  type  for  fifteen 
or  sixteen  volumes.     Under  the  former  plan,  a  sale  of  five 
hundred  or  even  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  sets  would  have 
repaid  the  outlay  of  the  publishers.     If  the  type,  however, 
were  to  be  reset,  the  undertaking  would  have  probably 
brought  loss  instead  of  profit  if  the  demand  had  not  called 
for  at  least  one  thousand  sets. 

In  any  case,  the  new  publisher  would  have  been  ham- 
pered in  undertaking  to  utilise  the  plates  of  the  earlier 
editions,  which  had  not  been  issued  in  any  uniformity 
of  style,  and  which  were  not  up  to  the  typographical 


128  George  Palmer  Putnam 

standard  of  1848.  The  proposition  to  Mr.  Irving  included, 
in  addition  to  the  payment  of  a  royalty  on  all  copies  sold, 
a  guaranty  of  payment  on  account  of  such  royalty,  for  the 
first  year  of  one  thousand,  for  the  second  of  two  thousand, 
and  for  the  third  year  of  three  thousand  dollars.  There 
was  the  further  suggestion  that  Mr.  Irving  had  probably 
brought  back  with  him  from  Spain  material  or  plans  for 
additional  works  and  that  it  would  be  very  desirable,  in 
announcing  the  revised  editions  of  these  earlier  books, 
to  make  announcement  also  of  new  volumes  on  fresh 
subjects. 

At  the  time  Irving  received  this  letter,  he  had  taken  a 
desk  in  the  office  of  his  brother,  John  Treat  Irving,  who 
was  a  well-known  lawyer,  and  who  had  been  of  service  to 
his  younger  brother  forty  years  earlier  when  the  latter  was 
beginning  his  work  at  the  New  York  Bar.  John  Treat 
Irving  the  second,  nephew  of  Washington  Irving,  told  me 
more  than  once  of  the  pleasurable  excitement  with  which 
his  uncle  read  this  letter  to  his  father.  "There  is  no 
necessity,  John,"  said  Washington,  as  he  kicked  over  the 
desk  in  front  of  him,  "for  my  bothering  further  with  the 
law.  Here  is  a  fool  of  a  publisher  going  to  give  me  a 
thousand  dollars  a  year  for  doing  nothing." 

A  contract  was  promptly  completed  on  the  basis  of  the 
proposition  submitted  by  my  father,  and  there  remains 
only  to  be  added  (in  this  business  matter,  at  least,  my 
father's  judgment  was  well  founded)  that  the  guaranty 
specified  never  came  into  effect,  the  royalties  of  each  year 
having  been  in  excess  of  the  minimum  amount  that  was  to 
have  been  paid.  It  was  also  the  case  that  between  1848 
and  1859,  the  year  of  Irving's  death,  the  author  did  some 
of  his  most  noteworthy  work,  his  new  productions  including 
The  Life  of  Goldsmith,  the  studies  of  the  West  such  as 
Astoria  and  Bonneville,  and  The  Life  of  Washington. 

The    appreciative    word    given    by    Scott    concerning 


"WasHing'ton.  Irving  129 

Irving's  Knickerbocker,  although  written  thirty-five  years 
earlier,  may  conveniently  be  inserted  here : 

Abbotsford,  April  23,  1813. 
My  dear  Sir: 

I  beg  you  to  accept  my  best  thanks  for  the  uncommon 
degree  of  entertainment  which  I  have  received  from  the  most 
excellently  jocose  history  of  New  York.  I  am  sensible  that  as 
a  stranger  to  American  parties  and  politics  I  must  lose  much 
of  the  concealed  satire  of  the  piece,  but  I  must  own  that,  look- 
ing at  the  simple  and  obvious  meaning  only,  I  have  never  read 
anything  so  closely  resembling  the  style  of  Dean  Swift  as  the 
annals  of  Diedrich  Knickerbocker.  I  have  been  employed 
these  few  evenings  in  reading  them  aloud  to  Mrs.  Scott  and 
two  ladies  who  are  our  guests  and  our  sides  have  been  abso- 
lutely sore  with  laughing.  I  think  too  there  are  passages  which 
indicate  that  the  author  possesses  powers  of  a  different  kind 
and  has  some  touches  which  remind  me  much  of  Sterne.  I 
beg  you  will  have  the  kindness  to  let  me  know  when  Mr. 
Irving  takes  pen  in  hand  again  for  assuredly  I  shall  expect  a 
very  great  treat  which  I  may  chance  never  to  hear  of  but 
through  your  kindness. 

Believe  me,  dear  Sir, 

Your  obliged  and  humble  servant, 

Walter  Scott. 
Washington  Irving,  Esq. 

Encouraged  by  the  confidence  shown  in  the  commercial 
value  of  his  writings  by  his  new  publisher,  and  encouraged 
further  by  the  tangible  results  of  the  first  two  years'  sales 
of  the  revised  editions,  Irving  instituted  for  himself  a  home 
on  the  Hudson  at  the  southern  end  of  Tarrytown.  He 
had  brought  over  from  Holland  some  Dutch  tiles  which 
had  caught  his  fancy,  and  with  the  tiles  a  model  of  a 
Dutch  homestead,  and  Sunnyside,  as  finally  completed, 
was  a  representation,  as  close  as  was  practicable  under 
the  circumstances,  of  an  artistic  Dutch  country  seat. 


130  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

The  following  letters,  while  bearing  date  a  year  or  more 
back,  will  serve  to  bring  into  the  narrative  another  author 
who  in  like  manner  became  a  valued  friend — Bayard 
Taylor.  Taylor's  works  found  place  in  the  first  cata- 
logue of  G.  P.  Putnam,  and,  three  quarters  of  a  century 
later,  are  still  catalogued  and  sold  by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

Phcenixville,  Pa.,  Dec.  21,  1847. 
Mr.  Putnam. 

My  dear  Sir: 

You  will  have  received  by  the  time  this  reaches  you,  the 
copies  of  Views  Afoot,  which  Mr.  Wiley  forwarded  to  you 
from  New  York.  I  have  at  length  succeeded  in  laying  the 
record  of  my  long  wanderings  (the  difficulties  of  which  you 
partly  know)  before  the  Public,  and  I  think  from  the  rapid 
sale  the  work  has  already  had  here,  you  will  have  no  cause  to 
repent  the  bargain.  Within  two  weeks  it  has  gone  off  so 
rapidly  that  I  presume  the  first  edition  must  be  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  disposed  of .  .  .  . 

With  many  thanks  for  your  kindness  to  me  while  in  England, 
I  remain, 

Yours  very  truly, 

J.  Bayard  Taylor. 

A  year  later,  Bayard  Taylor,  who  had  come  to  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  nearer  friends,  writes  from  Pennsyl- 
vania to  report  that  he  has  decided  to  "burn  his  ships," 
leaving  behind  the  country  printing-office,  and  seeking  his 
fortune  in  New  York  as  a  journalist  and  man  of  letters. 

Phcenixville,  Pa.,  Nov.  ii,  1848. 
My  dear  Putnam: 

The  thing  is  settled  at  last.  Just  as  soon  as  I  can  wind  up 
or  sell  out  the  establishment.  I  shall  pack  up  my  household 
goods  and  take  the  way  to  New  York.  I  am  glad  enough,  I 
assure  you,  at  this  delivery  from  the  drudgery  and  obscurity 
of  a  country  printing-office.     Besides,  the  offers  made  to  me  in 


Bayard  Taylor  131 

New  York,  to  begin  with,  are  the  most  congenial  to  my  own 
desires  that  could  have  been  made.  I  suppose  Hoffman  ana 
Griswold  have  mentioned  them  to  you,  and  I  need  not  repeat 
them. 

Your  note  was  most  welcome.  I  am  glad  the  Autumn 
Thought  answered  your  purpose,  and  do  not  think  it  will  be 
at  all  "scandalised"  in  company  with  J.  Q.  Adams  and  Orville 
Dewey.  I  feel  very  much  cheered  and  encouraged  by  the 
letters  I  have  received  from  New  York,  and  so  confident  do  I 
feel  in  the  success  of  my  plans,  that  I  have  determined  to  dis- 
pose of  this  establishment  at  a  loss  rather  than  miss  this  golden 
opportunity.  To  be  sure,  this  alternative  is  not  very  agree- 
able to  one  who  started  upon  nothing ;  but  if  industry  and  per- 
severance are  worth  anything  in  New  York  I  hope  soon  to  be 
even  with  the  world.  .  .  . 

But  the  boys  at  the  office  are  wanting  copy  by  this  time — 
and  I  must  conclude  by  asking  you  to  give  the  enclosed  note 
to  Hoffman.  Please  present  my  regards  to  Mrs.  Putnam,  and 
to  the  noisy  children  who  disturbed  you  when  you  last  wrote 
to  me. 

Ever  faithfully  yours, 

J.  Bayard  Taylor. 

My  father  had  met  young  Taylor  in  London  in  1846, 
after  the  completion  of  the  series  of  tramps  across  the 
continent  described  in  Views  Afoot.  Taylor  had  landed 
in  London  from  Germany  with  a  few  shillings  in  his  pocket, 
and,  having  been  disappointed  in  the  non-arrival  of  some 
remittances  which  he  had  expected  from  the  New  York 
Tribune  (for  which  he  was  one  of  the  first  European  corre- 
spondents), he  was  looking  about  London  in  search  of 
work.  He  had  completed  his  time  in  Pennsylvania  as  an 
apprentice  in  a  printing-office  and  was,  I  believe,  a  fairly 
well-trained  compositor.  He  secured  temporary  work 
once  or  twice  in  a  London  printing-office,  but  in  each  case 
the  foreman  was  compelled  by  the  union  controlling  the 
office  to  discharge  the  young  American  intruder.     Passing 


I32  George   Palmer  Putnam 

down  Waterloo  Place,  Taylor's  eye  was  caught  by  the 
words  on  my  father's  sign,  "American  Agency." 

He  made  his  way  to  my  father's  office  and  stated  his 
difficulty.  Some  clerical  work  was  found  for  him  (it  may 
be  recalled  that  he  wrote  an  exquisite  script),  and  he  was 
tided  over  the  immediate  difficulty.  My  father,  in  listen- 
ing to  the  account  of  his  "tramps,"  decided  that  the 
traveller  had  material  for  a  popular  book,  and,  as  a  result 
of  their  conversations,  an  arrangement  was  made  for  the 
publication  of  Views  Afoot.  This  was  issued  in  New  York 
in  the  following  year  and  proved  an  immediate  success. 
During  the  first  four  or  five  years  some  fifty  thousand 
copies  were  sold,  and  at  this  date,  seventy  years  later, 
the  book  is  still  in  demand.  In  his  later  years,  when 
Taylor  had  made  his  way  into  the  circle  of  poets  and  was 
particularly  ambitious  to  go  down  to  posterity  as  a  philo- 
sopher and  poet,  he  was  disposed  to  be  rather  ashamed 
of  his  earlier  travel  narratives.  He  disliked  particularly 
to  be  referred  to  as  the  "great  American  traveller."  It  is, 
nevertheless,  the  case  that  his  philosophical  poetry  not 
only  failed  to  secure  for  itself  any  large  measure  of  appre- 
ciation during  the  poet's  lifetime,  but  that  it  has  since  his 
death  been  almost  entirely  lost  sight  of.  The  volumes 
that  have  retained  vitality  and  have  kept  Taylor's  name  in 
the  list  of  American  authors  have  been  the  despised  travel 
narratives,  of  which  Views  Afoot  and  Eldorado,  the  two 
earliest,  are  also  the  two  best,  a  volume  of  criticisms  of 
German  literature  reshaped  from  the  columns  of  the 
Tribune,  and  a  collection  of  stories  for  youngsters,  entitled 
Boys  of  Other  Countries.  There  was  also  a  very  satis- 
factory immediate  success  for  five  novels,  beginning  with 
Hannah  Thurston.  These  retained  their  hold  upon  the 
public  for  a  number  of  years,  but  are  not  likely  to  be 
classed  with  permanent  American  literature.  Eldo- 
rado was  the  result  of  a  trip  made  by  Taylor,  as  corre- 


Bayard  Taylor  133 

spondent  of  the  Tribune,  to  California  in  1849,  just  after 
the  beginning  of  the  excitement  caused  by  the  gold  dis- 
coveries. Taylor  was  a  good  observer,  combining  the 
all-important  qualities  of  accuracy  of  statement  with 
piquancy  and  dramatic  touch  in  presentation.  The  letters 
to  the  Tribune  were  a  decided  success,  as  printed  in  the 
paper,  and  when  revised  for  book  publication  they  brought 
the  author  into  renewed  prestige  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic  and  gave  to  the  American  and  the  English  public 
by  far  the  most  trustworthy  pictures  as  yet  presented  of 
the  new  community  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Eldorado  was 
published  in  1849.  It  was  followed  in  the  succeeding  ten 
years  by  nine  more  volumes  of  narratives,  the  result  of 
journeys  taken  by  Taylor  to  Africa,  Arabia,  Asia,  Scan- 
dinavia, Germany  again,  Russia,  etc.  It  was  during  one 
of  these  later  journeys  that  Taylor  met  in  Gotha  the  lady 
who  became  his  second  wife.  Taylor  had  had,  while  quite 
a  young  man,  a  brief  married  experience  that  lasted  less 
than  a  year,  his  young  wife  (who  was  an  invalid  when  he 
married  her)  having  died  within  a  few  months  after  the 
marriage.  The  present  Mrs.  Taylor  is  the  daughter  of  the 
astronomer,  Hansen,  who  had  charge  of  the  Ducal  Observa- 
tory of  Gotha,  and  who  had  won  for  himself  an  hon- 
ourable position  among  the  scientists  of  Germany.  Taylor 
used  to  remark  that  he  had  journeyed  twice  around  the 
world  for  a  wife  and  had  been  so  directed  as  to  find  the 
right  woman  at  almost  the  point  of  departure. 

The  catalogue  of  the  first  year  included  a  third  name 
which  has  remained  known  in  literature — that  of  Edgar 
A.  Poe.  Poe  also  had  come  to  be  known  by  my  father 
during  his  sojourn  in  London,  and  it  was  in  London  that 
had  been  printed  as  a  separate  sketch  the  narrative  of  a 
seaman  of  Nantucket.  It  was  probably  in  1847  that  Poe, 
who  had  been  introduced  to  my  father  as  a  man  of  letters 
or  a  journalist,  brought  into  his  office  in  Waterloo  Place 


134  George  Palmer  Putnam 

a  manuscript  which  had,  as  he  related,  been  sent  to  him  by 
some  friends  in  Nantucket,  and  which  purported  to  be  the 
journal  of  a  Nantucket  seaman  who  had  gone  out  in  one 
of  the  whalers  on  a  trip  to  the  Arctic  seas.  The  seaman 
had  never  returned,  but,  according  to  Poe's  story,  the 
manuscript  containing  the  account  of  his  last  journey  had 
in  some  fashion  made  its  way  back  to  his  Nantucket 
home.  It  was  sent  to  London  rather  than  to  New  York 
for  the  reason  that  in  1847,  in  connection  with  the  expe- 
ditions in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  there  was  a  very 
wide-spread  public  interest  in  all  matters  relating  to  the 
Arctic  regions.  My  father  began  the  reading  of  the  sea- 
man's narrative  and  found  himself  not  a  little  impressed 
with  it.  The  literary  style  was  in  accordance  with  what 
might  have  been  expected  from  an  intelligent  New  Eng- 
lander  who,  while  without  any  experience  in  writing,  knew 
how  to  describe  in  a  simple  and  graphic  fashion  what  he 
had  seen.  The  readers  who  are  familiar  with  the  story  as 
now  printed  in  Poe's  Works  will  remember  that  through 
two  thirds  of  the  narrative  the  record  proceeds  quietly 
enough,  the  incidents  being  no  more  exceptional  than 
might  naturally  have  been  looked  for  during  such  a  voyage 
as  was  described.  It  seems  that  my  father  was  interrup- 
ted in  his  reading,  but,  judging  that  in  any  case  the  sketch 
was  well  worth  bringing  into  print  and  would  be  likely 
in  the  present  tendency  of  English  interest  to  attract 
public  attention,  he  sent  it  to  the  printers.  It  was  not 
until  he  read  in  one  of  the  critical  journals  of  the  time  a 
rather  sharp  reference  to  the  "methods  of  Yankee  pub- 
lishers" that  he  took  time  to  examine  the  closing  pages 
of  the  "narrative  of  Gordon  Pym,  seaman,  from  Nan- 
tucket." It  will  be  remembered  that  the  last  words  in 
the  manuscript  described  the  drawing  of  the  vessel  into 
the  whirl  of  a  great  vortex  supposed  to  be  situated  at  the 
Pole,  and  the  account  ends  with  some  such  words  as, 


Edgar  A.   Poe  135 

"And  we  are  going  down,  down,  down."  There  is  no 
reference  to  the  coming  up  again  of  either  the  author  or 
any  of  his  companions,  and  it  was  naturally  difficult  to 
understand  how  this  very  curious  narrative  had  made 
its  way  back  to  Nantucket  and  from  Nantucket  to 
London.  Mr.  Poe  had  been  paid  for  his  story  some 
money,  which  was,  he  said,  very  much  needed  by  the 
widow  of  the  unfortunate  seaman  who  was  left  alone 
in  Nantucket. 

My  father  does  not  record  having  had  any  opportunity 
of  receiving  from  the  versatile  author  any  explanation  of 
the  matter,  but  Poe  must  have  secured  forgiveness  in  some 
way,  because  in  1848  he  was  a  visitor  at  the  Broadway 
office,  where  he  was  putting  into  shape  what  he  described 
as  the  great  discovery  of  the  age. 

He  came  into  the  office  one  afternoon  in  the  half -intoxi- 
cated condition  in  which,  if  I  understand  the  record  of  his 
life,  much  of  his  literary  work  had  been  done.  He  deman- 
ded a  desk,  pen,  ink,  and  paper.  "Oh,  Mr.  Putnam,"  he 
said,  "you  do  not  yet  realise  how  important  is  the  work 
that  I  am  here  bringing  to  completion.  I  have  solved  the 
secret  of  the  universe."  He  wrote  furiously  during  the 
hours  of  daylight  that  remained,  until  the  time  came  for 
my  father  to  take  his  boat  for  Staten  Island.  The  author 
was  then  turned  over  to  the  care  of  the  book-keeper  and 
remained  writing  until  the  book-keeper  also  had  departed 
for  home.  The  porter  had  patience  for  a  little  time  longer 
and  then,  more  interested  in  the  plans  for  his  own  supper 
than  in  the  secrets  of  the  universe,  put  the  poet  out  not- 
withstanding protests.  The  next  day  the  performance 
was  repeated  on  practically  the  same  lines.  On  the  third 
day,  the  completed  manuscript  was  brought  by  the  poet 
to  the  publisher's  desk  and  was  handed  over  with  most 
glowing  prophecies  as  to  the  revolution  that  was  to  be 
brought  about  in  the  conceptions  of  mankind. 


136  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Mr.  Putnam  [said  Poe,  his  eye  with  fine  frenzy  rolling],  here 
is  a  revelation  that  will  make  fame  for  myself  and  fortune  for 
my  publisher.  The  world  has  been  waiting  for  it.  To  me  has 
come  as  an  inspiration  a  conception  that  has  not  yet  been 
reached  by  scientific  investigators.  For  such  a  result  the  name 
Eureka  is  certainly  fitting.  I  judge  that  you  ought  to  make 
your  first  edition  not  less  than  one  million  copies.  You  would 
not  wish  to  have  a  reading  public  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic 
in  a  state  of  irritation  because  copies  could  not  be  secured. 

My  father  took  the  manuscript  (which,  as  was  the  case 
with  even  the  most  intoxicated  effusions  of  Poe,  was  in  a 
beautiful  and  very  legible  script),  and  found  himself 
impressed  with  the  eloquence  of  the  fantasy,  but  not  quite 
so  clear  in  his  mind  as  to  its  importance  as  a  scientific  dis- 
covery. His  views  of  the  immediate  demand  from  the 
public  were,  in  any  case,  not  fully  up  to  the  expectations  of 
the  author.  He  printed  of  Eureka  a  first  edition  of  750 
copies,  and  a  year  later  at  least  a  third  of  these  copies  were 
still  on  hand.  The  essay  will  now  be  found  in  its  place 
with  the  other  prose  writings  of  Poe. 

I  am  not  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  chronology  of 
astronomical  investigation  to  know  at  just  what  date  the 
nebular  hypothesis  originated.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  Poe,  who  was  not  a  student  of  astronomy,  could  have 
known  little  or  nothing  of  the  results  secured  by  Herschel 
and  others,  even  if  these  results  were  at  the  time  in  print. 
He  may  fairly,  therefore,  be  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having 
secured  in  some  inspirational  fashion  of  his  own  a  concep- 
tion expressed  by  him  as  a  fantasy,  which  did  happen  to 
be  in  line  with  the  results  of  scientific  investigation. 

Here  is  a  Poe  document  that  can  be  termed  charac- 
teristic, and  which  is  properly  to  be  connected  with  the 
history  of  Eureka: 

Received  of  George  P.  Putnam  Fourteen  Dollars,  money 
loaned,  to  be  repaid  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  Copyright  of 


The  "Fable  for  Critics"  137 

my  work  entitled  Eureka,  a  Prose  Poem;  and  I  hereby  engage, 
in  case  the  sales  of  said  work  do  not  cover  the  expenses,  ac- 
cording to  the  account  rendered  by  said  Putnam  in  January, 
1849,  to  repay  the  said  amount  of  Fourteen  Dollars  and  I  also 
engage  not  to  ask  or  apply  for  any  other  loans  or  advances 
from  said  Putnam  in  any  way,  and  to  wait  until  January, 
1849,  for  the  statement  of  account  as  above,  before  making 

any  demand  whatever. 

Edgar  A.  Poe. 

New  York,  May,  1848. 

Witnesses, 

Maria  Clemur, 

Marie  Louise  Shaw. 

The  sum  specified  was  probably  the  equivalent  of  two 
weeks'  board. 

A  noteworthy  publication  of  the  first  year's  business 
of  the  new  publishing  concern  was  Lowell's  Fable  for 
Critics.  The  young  writer,  who  had  already  made  a 
repute  for  himself  as  critic,  poet,  and  "reformer"  in  the 
literary  world  of  which  Boston  was  the  centre,  thought 
this  production  (to  which  he  preferred  not  to  attach  his 
name)  could  be  brought  before  the  world  to  better  advant- 
age outside  of  Boston.  The  poem  was,  therefore,  sent 
to  New  York,  and  was  very  promptly  accepted  by  my 
father,  whose  name  fortunately  could  without  difficulty 
be  worked  into  the  famous  rhymed  title-page. 

Reader,  walk  up  at  once  (it  will  soon  be  too  late), 

And  buy,  at  a  perfectly  ruinous  rate, 

A  Fable  for  Critics;  or  better 

I  like,  as  a  thing  that  the  reader's  first  fancy  may  strike, 

An  old-fashioned  title-page,  such  as  presents 

A  tabular  view  of  the  volume's  contents : 

A  glance  at  a  few  of  our  literary  progenies 

(Mrs.  Malaprop's  word)  from  the  tub  of  Diogenes; 

A  vocal  and  musical  medley,  that  is 


138  George  Palmer  Putnam 

A  series  of  jokes  by  a  wonderful  quiz, 

Who  accompanies  himself  with  a  rub-a-dub-dub, 

Full  of  spirit  and  grace,  on  the  top  of  the  tub. 

Set  forth  in  October,  the  twenty-first  day, 

In  the  year  '48,  G.  P.  Putnam,  Broadway. 

A  later  edition  of  the  Fable  was  issued  in  1850,  when 
the  publishing  office  had  been  moved  to  10  Park  Place. 
Through  some  oversight  in  the  book-making  department, 
the  printer  was  permitted,  without  referring  the  matter 
to  the  publisher,  to  place  on  the  bottom  of  the  title-page 
the  new  address.  As  a  result,  the  title-page  of  this  later 
edition  (copies  of  which  are  scarcer  than  those  of  the  first) 
does  not  end  with  a  proper  rhyme. 

The  poem  achieved  an  immediate  success,  and  no  little 
enterprise  was  displayed  by  the  critics  of  Boston  as  well  as 
of  New  York  in  the  attempt  to  identify  the  clever  author 
whose  lines  gave  evidence  of  such  varied  knowledge  of 
literary  circles  of  the  country  and  were  characterised  by  so 
much  wit,  incisive  analysis,  and  cleverness  of  prophecy. 
In  reading  the  satire  sixty  years  after  its  production, 
one  can  but  be  struck  at  the  substantial  accuracy  with 
which,  in  a  few  lines,  the  young  journalist  had  touched  off 
not  only  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  younger  and 
older  writers  of  the  time  as  shown  by  their  printed  pro- 
ductions, but  also  the  probable  final  value  of  their  contri- 
butions to  thought  and  to  literature.  Lowell's  criticisms 
and  comparative  estimates  of  authors  for  the  group  of 
American  writers  here  associated  together  have  stood  the 
test  of  time.  Another  feature  of  the  satire  which  impresses 
itself  upon  the  reader  is  its  lightness  of  touch  and  its 
thorough  good  nature.  In  the  early  half  of  the  century, 
critical  literature  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  tended  to 
fierceness.  Invectives  were  sharper  and  more  bitter  than 
would  to-day  be  considered  good  form  even  for  political 
controversies.     The  touches  in  Lowell's  lines  are,  however, 


The  "Fable  for  Critics"  139 

given  not  with  the  smash  of  the  bludgeon,  but  with  the 
point  of  the  rapier.  Could  Emerson  be  described  in  one 
line  more  effectively  than  in  the  words: 

A  Greek  head  on  right  Yankee  shoulders? 

The  summary  of  Willis,  who  at  that  time  seemed  to  some 
of  his  contemporaries  to  be  a  dominating  force  in  the 
literature,  if  not  of  the  country,  at  least  of  New  York, 
reads : 

There  's  Willis,  all  natty  and  jaunty  and  gay. 

Who  ought  to  let  Scripture  alone — 't  is  self -slaughter, 
For  nobody  likes  inspiration-and-water. 

His  wit  running  up  as  Canary  ran  down, 

The  topmost  bright  bubble  on  the  wave  of  the  Town. 

It  is  certainly  venturesome  for  the  young  Bostonian  to 
dismiss  the  influential  editor  as  a  passing  bubble,  but 
the  opinion  of  the  half -century  has  fairly  justified  the 
conclusion. 

The  analysis  of  Parker  is  strongly  appreciative: 

The  Orson  of  parsons 
Who  was  So- (ultra) -cinian,  he  shocked  the  Socinians. 

But  he  turned  up  his  nose  at  their  mumming  and  shamming 
And  cared  (shall  I  say)  not  a  d for  their  damning ; 

But  in  one  thing,  't  is  clear,  he  has  faith,  namely  Parker. 

The  picture  of  Bryant  can  hardly  be  termed  warmly 
appreciative : 


140  George  Palmer  Putnam 

There  's  Bryant,  as  quiet,  as  cool,  and  as  dignified 
As  a  smooth  silent  iceberg,  that  never  is  ignified 
Save  when  by  reflection  't  is  kindled  o'  nights 
With  a  semblance  of  flame  by  the  chill  Northern  Lights. 

That  of  Hawthorne  shows  recognition : 

There  is  Hawthorne  with  genius  so  shrinking  and  rare 
That  you  hardly  at  first  see  the  strength  that  is  there. 

At  this  time  Hawthorne  had  come  before  the  world  with 
only  the  first  group  of  sketches  issued  under  the  title  of 
Mosses  from  an  Old  Manse. 

Here  's  Cooper,  who  's  written  six  volumes  to  show 

He  's  as  good  as  a  lord;  well,  let  's  grant  that  he  's  so.  .  .  . 

But  he  need  take  no  pains  to  convince  us  he  's  not 

(As  his  enemies  say)  the  American  Scott. 

Cooper's  completed  works  comprise  thirty-two  volumes, 
so  that  at  the  time  when  Lowell  wrote  he  had  only  made 
a  beginning  with  his  long  series  of  romances  of  the  woods 
and  seas,  intermingled  with  galling  sermons  on  the  lack 
of  manners  on  the  part  of  his  fellow-countrymen. 

There  comes  Poe,  with  his  raven,  like  Barnaby  Rudge, 
Three  fifths  of  him  genius  and  two  fifths  sheer  fudge! 
Who  has  written  some  things  quite  the  best  of  their  kind, 
But  the  heart  somehow  seems  all  squeezed  out  by  tlie  mind. 

What  Irving?  thrice  welcome,  warm  heart  and  fine  brain, 
You  bring  back  the  happiest  spirit  from  Spain, 
And  the  gravest  sweet  humour,  that  ever  were  there 
Since  Cervantes  met  death  in  his  gentle  despair. 

And  you'll  find  a  choice  nature,  not  wholly  deserving 
A  name  neither  English  nor  Yankee — just  Irving. 


The   "Fable  for  Critics'*  I41 

There  's  Holmes,  who  is  matchless  among  you  for  wit ; 
A  Ley  den  jar  always  full  charged,  from  which  flit 
The  electrical  tingles  of  hit  after  hit.     .     .     . 
His  are  just  the  fine  hands,  too,  to  weave  you  a  lyric 
Full  of  fancy,  fine  feeling,  or  spiced  with  satyric. 

There  goes  Halleck,  whose  Fanny  's  a  pseudo  Don  Juan, 
With  the  wickedness  out  that  gave  salt  to  the  true  one. 
More  than  this,  he  's  a  very  great  poet,  I  am  told, 
And  has  had  his  works  published  in  crimson  and  gold. 

In  order  to  preserve  the  anonymous  character  of  his 
descriptions,  the  poet  included  his  own  name  in  the  list  of 
the  scribblers  of  whom  he  was  making  fun : 

There  is  Lowell  who  's  striving  Parnassus  to  climb 
With  a  whole  bundle  of  isms  tied  together  with  rhyme. 
He  might  get  on  alone,  spite  of  brambles  and  boulders, 
But  he  can't  with  that  bundle  he  has  on  his  shoulders. 

The  quotations  from  this  delightful  series  of  genial 
descriptions  of  the  literary  workers  of  their  day  could  be 
continued  throughout  the  whole  poem.  I  have  thought 
it  worth  while  to  bring  in  this  little  selection  of  pictures 
at  least  to  recall  to  mind  the  character  of  the  literary  circle 
in  which  this  small  poem  of  Lowell's  was  accepted  sixty 
years  ago.  I  do  not  know  at  just  what  time  the  author- 
ship of  the  Fable  became  known,  but  I  should  judge  that 
that  would  have  been  a  convenient  season  for  the  young 
Bostonian  to  have  betaken  himself  (as  he  certainly  did  a 
little  later)  to  the  Maine  woods. 

The  catalogue  of  1848  includes  among  other  names  that 
of  George  Borrow.  Lavengro,  described  in  this  list  as 
an  "autobiography,"  was  published  by  my  father  in  that 
year  in  co-operation  with  his  old  friend  and  London 
neighbour,  John  Murray  the  second  (Byron's  Murray). 
John  Murray  the  third  was  at  that  time  beginning  to 


142  George  Palmer  Putnam 

take  hold  of  business  operations  in  Albemarle  Street.  In 
1899,  in  co-operation  with  John  Murray  the  fourth,  G.  P. 
Putnam's  Sons  published  the  long-delayed  Life  of  Borrow 
by  Knapp  and  the  revised  editions  of  Lavengro  and 
The  Bible  in  Spain.  The  Borrow  books  have  ever  since 
that  date  been  kept  in  print  in  American  editions  in  con- 
nection with  the  issues  by  Murray  in  London.  In  191 2, 
the  Putnams  are  publishing,  still,  of  course,  in  connection 
with  Murray,  the  later  Life  of  Borrow  by  Jenkins,  a 
scholarly  memoir  which  may  possibly  be  accepted  as 
definitive.  The  Putnam  imprint  was  also  associated 
with  seven  of  the  volumes  of  Fenimore  Cooper,  de- 
scribed as  a  "new  edition,"  with  Carlyle's  Past  arid  Present 
and  The  Letters  and  Speeches  of  Cromwell,  published  in 
connection  with  John  Chapman  of  London;  and  with 
the  poems  and  prose  sketches  of  Thomas  Hood,  the  Songs 
and  Ballads  of  William  Howitt,  the  Stories  from  the  Italian 
Poets  of  Leigh  Hunt,  and  the  Biographia  Literaria  of 
Coleridge.  The  names  of  the  American  authors  include 
Dr.  Bethune,  a  noted  pulpit  orator  of  the  day;  George  H. 
Calvert  of  Newport,  author  of  The  Gentleman;  Professor 
Dana  of  Yale,  who  had  made  himself  one  of  the  scien- 
tific authorities  of  the  country;  Downing,  the  landscape 
gardener;  Dr.  Hawks,  Rector  of  Calvary  Church,  one 
of  the  more  fashionable  parishes  of  the  city,  and  Catherine 
Sedgwick,  whose  Clarence  and  Redwood  were  ranked  with 
noteworthy  American  fiction.  The  English  names  inclu- 
ded further,  Dr.  Layard,  the  record  of  whose  explorations 
in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  and  of  Babylon  was  published  in 
co-operation  with  Murray ;  and  Kinglake,  not  yet  known 
as  the  historian  of  the  Crimean  War,  but  as  the  writer  of  the 
wonderful  Oriental  narrative,  Eothen,  which,  seventy  years 
later,  is  still  being  called  for  in  fresh  editions.  The  selec- 
tion of  the  publications  of  the  year  can  be  closed  with 
The  World's  Progress,  by  G.  P.  Putnam,  a  revised  and 


Fenimore  Cooper  143 

enlarged  edition  of  the  manual  of  chronology  which  had 
originally  been  issued  in  1832,  during  the  years  of  my 
father's  apprenticeship. 

The  following  "proposal,"  the  original  of  which,  in  Mr. 
Cooper's  own  script,  I  find  in  the  scrap-book,  is  doubtless 
to  be  connected  with  the  seven  volumes  of  Cooper's  works 
that  are  recorded  in  the  catalogues  of  1849  and  1850: 

Fenimore  Cooper  to  G.  P.  Putnam. 

1849.     3  O'Clock  Saturday. 

Proposal. 

Mr.  C.  will  sell  to  Mr.  P.  the  right  to  publish  the  six  books 
for  three  years  from  the  1st  Jan.,  1850,  on  the  following 
terms,  viz.: 

Mr.  C.  to  be  paid  #1200.  for  the  three  sets  of  plates  already 
made,  by  notes  and  in  hand,  as  follows:  Spy  being  paid  for, 
Mr.  P.  is  to  pay  for  that  plate  by  renewing  the  notes  due  1st 
and  4th  Dec.,  and  1st  and  4th  Jan.  next,  each  for  #200.,  at  four 
and  five  months  from  March  1st,  1850,  or  at  seven  and  eight 
months  from  1st  Dec.  last.  This  will  be  substantially  using 
Mr.  C.'s  money,  as  now  earned,  leaving  the  bargain  for  the 
new  novel  much  as  it  originally  stood,  transferring  the  day  of 
publication  to  March.  Of  course  Mr.  P.  will  take  up  his  note 
due  Jan.  1st  and  4th,  as  he  has  done  with  those  before  due. 

For  Pilot,  already  published,  Mr.  P.  can  give  a  note  at  four 
months  (#600.)  to  pay  for  plates. 

For  Red  Rover,  the  same,  by  a  note  for  six  months,  or  seven 
months,  if  the  time  be  an  object. 

For  these  three  books  Mr.  P.  to  give  a  note  at  six  months 
for  #300. — copy  money,  or  #100.  a  book. 

For  the  remaining  three  books  which  will  be  stereotyped 
by  Mr.  P.  at  his  cost,  a  note  for  #100.  to  be  given  for  each,  at 
a  month  from  the  respective  publication. 

At  the  end  of  the  term,  or  Jan.  1st,  1853,  the  plates  to  become 
the  property  of  Mr.  C. 

No  other  rights  to  be  granted  except  to  print  cheap  editions 


144  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

from  the  old  plates  as  is  now  done.  Think  of  this  and  meet  me 
to-morrow  at  six,  instead  of  this  evening,  as  I  have  an  engage- 
ment I  had  overlooked. 

In  1 85 1,  the  Swedish  author,  Fredrika  Bremer,  brought 
letters  of  introduction  to  my  father  from  an  old  corre- 
spondent in  Stockholm  and  was  made  a  guest  at  our 
country  home. 

I  remember  her  as  a  graceful  little  woman  with  bright 
eyes,  grey  hair,  and  a  genial  smile  and  with  attractively 
broken  English.  She  had  brought  with  her  very  little 
money,  having  the  impression  that  by  means  of  "lecture- 
talks"  about  life  in  Sweden  and  through  the  sale  of 
American  editions  of  her  books  (books  which  had  made 
a  very  substantial  success  in  Sweden),  she  could  not  only 
pay  her  expenses,  but  ought  to  be  able  to  take  back  some 
proceeds  to  her  Swedish  home. 

She  remained  with  us  for  some  weeks  while  my  father 
was  busying  himself  in  arranging  for  the  lectures  and  in 
planning  for  the  American  editions  of  her  books.  The 
first  lectures  were  a  success,  but  some  other  more  exciting 
lecturers  engaged  the  attention  of  the  public,  and  Miss 
Bremer  found,  after  visits  to  Boston  and  Philadelphia, 
that  it  would  not  be  wise  to  attempt  to  interest,  in  her 
quiet  narratives  and  pictures  of  rural  life,  the  kind  of 
audiences  to  be  found  in  the  Western  cities.  The  first 
two  books,  also,  The  Home  and  The  Neighbours,  started  off 
with  a  satisfactory  demand,  a  demand  that  was,  of  course, 
furthered  by  the  preliminary  interest  in  the  lectures. 
Some  unauthorised  editions  were,  however,  at  once 
announced,  and  it  was  evident  that,  with  the  compara- 
tively limited  market  of  the  time,  there  could  hardly  be  a 
profitable  sale  for  more  than  one  edition,  and  that  if 
piracy  issues  were  placed  upon  the  market  at  the  lower 
price  that  was  possible  for  books  not  making  any  payment 


Miss  Bremer  and  tKe  Harpers  145 

to  the  author,  the  authorised  editions  would  speedily  be 
pushed  out  of  sale. 

The  most  important  competition  was  that  threatened 
by  the  Harpers,  who  had  announced  in  their  magazine  that 
they  had  cheaper  editions  in  preparation.  My  father 
decided  to  take  Miss  Bremer  with  him  to  call  upon  the 
magnates  in  Franklin  Square,  in  the  hope  that  the  four 
Methodist  brothers  might  be  sufficiently  interested  in  the 
personality  of  the  author  to  be  willing  to  abandon  a  plan 
which  would  bring  to  her  serious  disappointment.  Miss 
Bremer  was  very  courteously  received  by  Mr.  Fletcher 
Harper,  who  was  the  most  active  of  the  four,  and  was  given 
an  opportunity  of  examining  the  printing-office  and  the 
other  details  of  an  establishment  which  was  at  that  time 
the  most  important  of  its  class  in  the  country.  She  was 
then  taken  down  to  her  carriage  and  my  father  returned  for 
a  last  word  with  Mr.  Harper.  "Do  you  not  think,  Mr. 
Harper, ' '  said  my  father,  ' '  bearing  in  mind  that  the  little 
lady's  sojourn  in  this  country  is  dependent  upon  the 
receipts  from  her  books,  and  that  she  has  come  over  here 
trusting  to  American  hospitality  and  to  American  good 
faith,  that  it  might  be  in  order  for  you  to  withdraw  your 
announcement  of  those  competing  editions?" 

Mr.  Harper's  reply  was  in  substance  that  courtesy  was 
courtesy  and  business  was  business.  The  competing  edi- 
tion came  into  the  market  within  a  few  weeks.  The 
receipts  from  the  authorised  editions  were  necessarily 
curtailed,  and  the  poor  little  lady  returned  to  Stockholm 
with  pleasant  memories  of  some  American  friends,  but  not 
a  little  disappointed  at  the  final  results  of  her  invasion  of 
the  States. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  any  sketch  having  to  do 
with  the  publishing  operations  between  1848  and  i860 
without  making  an  occasional  reference  of  this  kind  to  the 
theories  under  which  the  Harpers  of  the  first  generation 


146  George  Palmer  Putnam 

carried  on  their  own  publishing  undertakings,  theories 
which,  however  annoying  to  some  of  their  neighbours,  were 
certainly  serviceable  in  helping  to  build  up  a  largely 
remunerative  business.  The  old-time  methods  of  pub- 
lishing by  "appropriation,"  methods  practised  by  other 
concerns  than  the  Harpers,  but  in  which,  through  their 
business  capacity,  their  literary  insight,  and  their  large 
resources,  they  were  easily  the  leaders,  have  during  the 
past  half  century  been  changed  very  much  for  the  better. 
The  Harpers  of  that  day  were  prepared  to  make  payments 
to  transatlantic  authors  who  would  place  their  American 
interests  exclusively  under  Harper  control.  They  had, 
however,  a  strong  disapproval  for  any  transatlantic  author 
who,  on  one  ground  or  another,  might  prefer  some  Ameri- 
can imprint  other  than  that  of  Franklin  Square.  Par- 
ticularly was  this  the  case  if  the  Harpers  might  themselves 
have  brought  into  print  an  earlier  volume  by  such  author. 
They  were  inclined  then  to  take  the  ground  that,  whether 
or  not  such  earlier  publication  had  been  approved  by,  or 
even  authorised  by,  the  author,  the  Harpers  had  "intro- 
duced" such  author  to  the  American  market,  and  that 
they  had,  therefore,  the  first  claim  upon  all  his  future 
books.  They  were  not  disposed  to  concede  to  the  foreign 
author  liberty  of  action  in  the  selection  of  his  American 
publisher.  Such  a  contention  naturally  brought  the 
Harpers  from  time  to  time  into  issue  with  publishers  who, 
like  George  P.  Putnam,  were  willing  to  take  up  American 
editions  of  transatlantic  books  only  under  arrangement 
with,  and  with  the  full  approval  of,  the  author.  As  an 
example  of  the  correspondence  referred  to,  I  may  cite  a 
letter  of  my  father  to  the  Harpers  bearing  date  January 
29,  1 85 1,  in  regard  to  the  unauthorised  American  editions 
of  Borrow's  works.  It  was,  unfortunately,  the  case  that 
there  were  occasions  for  similar  correspondence.  The 
difficulty   that  arose  in   connection  with   the  American 


THe  Harpers  147 

editions  of  the  novels  of  Fredrika  Bremer  has  already 

been  referred  to. 

New  York,  Jan.  29,  1851. 
Messrs.  Harper  &  Brothers. 

Dear  Sirs: 

I  have  observed  that  you  have  again  announced  that  you 
shall  reprint  Borrow' s  Lavengro. 

Considering  that  my  engagements  with  Mr.  Murray  to 
republish  this  work  from  an  early  copy  were  made  as  long  ago 
as  November,  1848  (the  proposition  originating  with  him), 
and  that  at  least  one  of  your  house  was  aware  of  that  fact,  I 
have  been  unwilling  to  suppose  that  you  really  intended  to 
reprint  another  edition. 

If  there  is  any  good  reason  why  the  ordinary  usages  of  the 
trade  should  be  departed  from  in  this  instance,  may  I  ask 
you  to  be  good  enough  to  mention  it? 

I  am  not  aware  that  I  have  given  you  any  cause  for  com- 
plaint. I  have  carefully  avoided  all  interference  with  your 
publishing  arrangements  and  have  not  even  sought  or  pro- 
posed for  a  single  English  book  for  republication  for  two  years 
past;  while  I  have  declined  several  proposals  made  to  me  for 
such  reprints  from  early  copies. 

If  there  be,  nevertheless,  any  good  reason  why  it  is  right  and 
proper,  according  to  equity  and  usage,  for  you  to  reprint 
Borrow's  work,  in  rivalry  to  my  edition  (which  will  be  reprinted 
from  an  early  copy  obtained  at  very  considerable  cost),  I 
should  feel  greatly  obliged  if  you  would  let  me  know  what 

the  reason  is. 

I  am,  dear  Sirs, 

Very  truly  yours, 

G.  P.  Putnam. 

The  principal  sufferer  from  the  Harper  "appropriation" 
of  Borrow's  Works  was  my  father  who,  with  an  optimistic 
trust  that  his  undertaking  would  not  be  interfered  with, 
had  paid  the  English  publisher  Murray  a  full  price  for  the 
American  market.  I  am,  of  course,  in  this  reference, 
speaking  only  of  the  Harper  concern  of  the  first  generation. 


148  George  Palmer  Putnam 

The  later  House  of  Harper,  under  the  direction  of  the 
sons  and  grandsons  of  the  founders,  maintained  a  high 
standard  of  publishing  comity  and  of  publishing  ethics. 
The  Harpers  of  the  third  generation  rendered  valuable  serv- 
ice in  the  final  contest  for  international  copyright,  and 
have  always  been  ready  to  extend  the  fullest  possible  recog- 
nition to  all  rights  or  courtesy  claims  of  their  publishing 
competitors. 

A  visitor  who  came  a  little  later  to  the  Stapleton  cottage 
was  Susan  Warner,  whose  nom  de  plume  of  Susan  Wetherell 
was  soon  to  become  known  in  the  world  of  letters.     She 
presented  a  very  different  personality  from  that  of  the 
little  lady  from  Stockholm.     I  remember  her — of  course 
with  memories  of  a  later  date — as  nearly  six  feet  in  height, 
and  I  have  a  picture  of  a  long  head  surmounting  a  long 
neck,  and  of  a  bowing  or  swaying  motion  which  at  times 
gave  the  impression  of  an  affectation  of  graciousness. 
She  was  really  a  very  simple-natured  and  true-hearted 
woman;  an  earnest  Christian,  who  believed  in  utilising 
whatever  power  had  been  given  to  her  for  extending  the 
influence  of  applied  Christianity.     Her  experience  had 
been  rather  limited  so  far  as  knowledge  of  the  world  was 
concerned.     She  had  been  brought  up  in  a  quiet  village 
not  far  from  Ballston  Springs,  and  excepting  for  an  occa- 
sional and  very  brief  visit  to  New  York,  she  could  hardly, 
at  the  time  she  began  the  writing  of  her  books,  have  seen 
anything  whatsoever  of  the  world  of  society.    An  excep- 
tion should  possibly  be  made  to  this  statement  on  the 
ground  that  Ballston  Springs,  which  was  the  Saratoga  of 
the  time,  did  have  occasion  to  receive  at  certain  months  of 
the  year  social  leaders  and  political  leaders  from  different 
parts  of  the  country ;  but  I  judge  from  my  memory  of  Miss 
Warner's  words  (I  am  speaking,  of  course,  of  a  very  much 
later  date  when  I  was  old  enough  to  have  a  personal 
interest  in  talk  of  the  kind)  that  even  in  her  visits  to  Ball- 


THe  Warner  Sisters  149 

ston,  her  views  of  the  piazza  life  of  the  hotel  of  the  day 
must  have  been  very  much  from  the  outside.  She  had 
also  a  horror  of  the  usual  social  routine  which  was  followed 
in  the  Ballston  circles.  Dancing  was  in  her  mind  a  wicked- 
ness, cards  an  invention  of  the  evil  one,  and  conversation 
on  lighter  subjects  rather  a  serious  risk  tending  to  frivoli- 
ties and  involving  a  waste  of  the  time  that  had  been 
given  by  -the  Lord  for  important  service. 

Her  sister  Anna,  who  came  to  Stapleton  on  one  of  the 
later  visits,  was  of  a  more  genial  nature  and  somewhat 
less  assured  in  her  convictions  and  theories  about  the 
universe.  It  was  possible  for  her  to  hold  beliefs  of  her 
own  and  at  the  same  time  to  admit  the  possibility  of  there 
being  grounds  for  very  different  beliefs  on  the  part  of 
other  people.  Anna  had  less  intellectual  force  than  Susan, 
but  greater  powers  of  perception.  She  made  friends  more 
easily  and,  while  deferring  to  the  judgment  of  her  older 
sister,  she  really  possessed  a  much  larger  measure  of  com- 
mon sense.  I  speak  of  Anna  Warner  in  the  past  tense 
because  my  personal  memories  of  her  date  back  to  earlier 
years.  She  is  still  living,  however,  in  this  year  (1912), 
making  her  home  during  the  summer  in  the  old  homestead 
on  Constitution  Island  opposite  West  Point,  and  during 
the  winter  in  quarters  within  the  military  establishment. 
There  she  has  long  been  a  privileged  resident  and  visitor. 
For  many  years  she  has  carried  on  a  Bible  class  for  the 
cadets,  who  in  succession  have  come  to  honour  her  for  per- 
sistent, faithful,  and  loving  service  in  their  behalf,  and  she 
has  in  this  way  come  into  intimate  and  friendly  relations 
with  a  large  proportion  of  the  students.  Reference  will  be 
made  later  to  the  literary  productions  of  the  two  sisters. 

Through  the  kind  thoughtfulness  of  Anna  Warner  I  am 
able  to  insert  here  extracts  from  certain  letters  written  by 
her  sister  Susan  during  the  latter's  visit  to  the  home  of  her 
publisher. 


150  George  Palmer  Putnam 

States  Island,  Sept.  15,  1850. 
I  was  introduced  in  due  form,  as  you  have  doubtless  heard, 
to  my  host  and  hostess,  and  established  in  one  of  the  two  arm- 
chairs behind  the  screen  in  the  great  bookstore  to  await  the 
time  when  we  might  walk  down  to  Whitehall  to  take  the  one 
o'clock  boat  for  Staten  Island.  Little  Minnie  Putnam  was 
introduced  to  me  as,  I  believe,  the  lady  who  had  written 
Robinson  Crusoe's  Farmyard,  but  I  did  n't  rush  into  explana- 
tions at  the  very  first  burst.  Mr.  Putnam  showed  me  a  beau- 
tiful illustrated  copy  of  Rural  Hours,  exquisite  birds  and  pretty 
flowers,  but  I  would  have  given  more  general  illustrations. 
He  also  showed  me  some  papier-mache  covers  for  the  same 
work,  adorned  very  handsomely  with  mother-of-pearl  wreaths 
of  flowers,  all  different.  That  book  has  taken  very  well,  is  n't 
it  odd?  Then  I  turned  over  the  leaves  of  a  most  splendid 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  which  Mr.  Putnam  has  secured  as  a  present 
from  England.  Full  of  illustrations,  beautifully  done,  in  all 
but  the  mind's  part,  so  on  the  whole  to  my  taste  poor.  Mr. 
P.  had  left  us,  after  showing  me  a  bunch  of  proofs,  and  telling 
me  if  I  was  tired  of  waiting  there,  I  might  amuse  myself  with 
them.  Not  there,  many  thanks  to  him.  I  sat  looking  over  the 
Pilgrim  s  Progress,  too  much  out  of  my  latitude  to  enjoy  it, 
and  sometimes  exchanging  a  few  words  with  Mrs.  Putnam. 
By  and  by  appeared  Mr.  Putnam,  who  surprised  me  greatly 
by  saying  to  me  that  he  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  a 
ticket  for  me  for  Jenny  Lind's  Concert  that  evening,  and  he 
could  only  get  such  and  such  a  place,  but  it  was  the  last  ticket 
to  be  had.  Mrs.  Putnam  then  and  afterwards  expressed  great 
pleasure  that  he  had  succeeded ;  she  had  been  afraid  they  would 
have  to  do  a  rude  thing,  go  off  and  leave  me  alone.  I  assured 
her  I  should  not  have  taken  it  so.  But  I  have  heard  tell  of 
such  a  thing  being  done,  have  n't  you?  .  .  . 

As  the  concert  began  at  eight,  judge  what  a  waiting  we  had 
in  the  concert  room.  If  I  had  been  well,  it  would  not  have 
mattered,  but  I  was  not  well,  and  my  patience  was  tried.  It 
was  very  warm,  and  it  is,  I  should  think,  a  difficult  matter  in 
the  best  of  times  to  keep  anything  like  thorough  ventilation 
in  a  room  where  there  is  such  an  assemblage  of  human  beings, 


Jenny  Lind  I51 

— a  difficulty  rather  increased,  I  presume,  on  the  present  oc- 
casion by  the  fact  that  the  openings  in  the  roof  were  occupied 
by  spectators,  who  looked  down  and  waved  handkerchiefs 
from  there,  instead  of  permitting  the  air  to  wave  to  our  relief. 
As  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  manner  in  which  the  seats 
were  sold,  our  places  were  not  together.  I  was  entirely  by 
myself,  except  when  Mr.  Putnam,  who  had  what  is  called  a 
promenade  ticket,  came  to  see  me.  I  did  not  care  for  that; 
the  audience  was  very  well  behaved,  and  the  gentleman  at  my 
left  belonged  to  a  large  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  before 
me,  so  I  was  at  ease.  I  had  an  excellent  position  for  seeing, 
except  as  to  distance.  I  could  not  distinguish  features.  But, 
on  the  whole,  I  was  very  well  satisfied  with  my  situation,  or 
I  should  have  been  had  I  been  well,  but  I  was  under  the  bal- 
cony— it  was  warm,  it  was  close,  I  had  that  unsettled  condition 
of  body  which  puts  an  edge  upon  disagreeableness,  and  some 
of  the  people  beside  and  before  me  would  stand  up, — how  they 
smothered  me!  After  we  had  sat  there  a  great  while,  the 
gentleman  at  my  right  asked  the  gentleman  at  my  left  what 
o'clock  it  was — twenty-two  minutes  past  seven.  And  more 
than  a  half  hour  yet  to  wait!     Well! 

One  or  two  of  the  large  party  who  were,  as  I  told  you,  my 
neighbours,  made  themselves  exceedingly  busy!  "There  's 
this  one,"  and  "There  's  that  one,"  etc.,  etc.  They  seemed  to 
know  a  good  many  people ;  they  had  nice  little  pink  merino  and 
satin  party  cloaks,  and  plenty  of  opera-glasses  among  them. 
N.  B.  They  never  offered  me  one,  which  I  really  think  they 
might,  seeing  that  I  was  a  peaceable,  well-disposed  person, 
and  evidently  entirely  alone,  but  perhaps  I  am  extravagant 
in  my  notions  of  politeness.  My  right-hand  neighbour  was 
considerate,  for  he  offered  after  a  while  to  exchange  seats 
with  me,  that  I  might,  as  he  said,  be  next  a  lady.  I  de- 
clined. He  was  an  easy  young  man  that;  he  borrowed  the 
Programme  of  me,  and  once  or  twice  an  opera-glass  from  one 
of  the  aforesaid  large  party. 

At  last,  came  the  overture  which  was  something;  then  came 
Signore  Belletti,  who  was  nothing  (nothing  but  the  leading  of 
the  type),  and  then  Jenny.    Well,  what  shall  I  say?    Imagine 


152  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  clearest,  sweetest,  loveliest  notes  of  the  JEolian  harp, 
utterance  like  the  gurgling  of  water,  and  compass  power, 
when  she  chose,  that  seemed  so  to  speak  unlimited.  Once  in 
a  duet  where  Belletti  pretends  to  be  giving  her  a  singing  lesson, 
she  made  a  trill  of  marvellous  length  and  beauty, — his  response 
was  a  sort  of  grunted  "Oh!"  of  wonder,  and  how  they 
clapped.  They  cheered  her,  they  shouted  for  her,  they  flung 
flowers  at  her.  It  was  something  to  see.  What  will  you  say 
if  I  tell  you  that  the  most  moving  part  of  the  whole  exhibition 
was  her  manner?  What  will  you  think  if  I  tell  you  that  her 
manner  of  courtesying  more  than  once  brought  tears  to  my 
eyes?  I  don't  very  much  wonder — such  a  sea  of  human  heads 
you  never  looked  upon.  Mr.  Putnam  estimated  them  at  2500, 
the  largest  concert  perhaps  yet,  and  to  see  such  an  assemblage 
collected  to  do  involuntary  homage  to  the  talent  and  character 
of  one  poor  woman.  I  should  think  if  she  had  much  feeling 
it  might  move  her.  I  never  saw  any  one  courtesying  so  before. 
It  seemed  as  if  she  could  not  get  low  enough;  she  bowed  her 
head  almost  or  quite  to  her  knees;  it  seemed  to  my  fancy  as 
if  a  certain  feeling  of  humility,  the  sense  of  gratitude,  and  the 
desire  of  acknowledgment  were  labouring  to  express  them- 
selves. They  did  express  themselves  to  me.  Her  face  is 
extremely  good  as  I  know  from  an  engraving  here,  which  is 
certified  to  be  like  her,  a  very  noble  fine  expression  of  count- 
enance. She  gave  us  the  echo  song.  Oh  Annie!  what  can 
words  say?  .  .  . 

There  were  700  competitors  for  the  prize  for  the  Jenny 
Lind  song.  When  told  of  this,  Jenny,  according  to  Mr.  Put- 
nam, lifted  up  hands  and  eyes,  exclaiming,  "Then  there  will  be 
six  hundred  and  ninety-nine  disappointed."  Epes  Sargent 
was  one  of  the  six  hundred  and  ninety-nine,  and  has  been 
making  a  fool  of  himself  since  the  decision,  trying  to  get  it  in 
some  sort  reversed  or  counterpartcd.  Mr.  Putnam  was  on 
the  committee.  He  has  heard  Jenny  every  single  time  she 
has  sung  here.  The  successful  poet  is  Taylor, — the  young 
man  who  travelled  over  Europe  on  foot,  having  but  $150  to 
set  out  with;  you  have  heard  Mrs.  S.  speak  of  him;  she  has  his 
travels,  or  had  them.  .  .  . 


CHAPTER  VII 
Publishing  UndertaKings 

AMONG  the  literary  men  of  a  somewhat  older  gen- 
eration whose  counsel  was  utilised  by  the  young 
publisher  in  collecting  literary  material  was  Evert 
A.  Duyckinck.  Mr.  Duyckinck  belonged,  as  his  name 
gives  evidence,  to  one  of  the  old  Dutch  families  of  the  city. 
He  had  from  an  early  year  devoted  himself  to  literature, 
being  particularly  interested  in  criticism  and  in  editorial 
work.  He  had  begun  for  Wiley  &  Putnam,  and  continued 
for  G.  P.  Putnam,  the  editing  of  a  series  entitled  "The 
Library  of  Choice  Reading. ' '  I  have  been  able  to  secure  for 
my  own  collection  a  set  of  these  books,  comprising  some 
thirty  volumes  substantially  bound  in  red  cloth.  While 
the  publisher  felt  sufficient  hopefulness  about  the  series  to 
continue  the  publication  until  this  number  of  volumes 
had  been  brought  into  print,  it  is  my  understanding  that 
the  publication  as  an  entirety  produced  a  deficiency 
instead  of  a  profit.  In  looking  over  the  list  of  titles,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  understand  why  such  a  series  should  have 
failed  to  secure  a  remunerative  popularity.  Mr.  Duyck- 
inck's  taste  was  excellent  as  far  as  the  matter  of  literary 
quality  was  concerned.  His  difficulty  as  an  editor  was, 
however,  his  tendency  to  over-estimate  the  number  of 
readers  whose  taste  in  literature  was  as  high  as  his  own. 
In  the  period  in  question,  there  was  no  great  West.     The 

153 


154  George  Palmer  Putnam 

market  upon  which  the  authors  and  the  publishers  depen- 
ded for  returns  for  their  literature  comprised  the  New 
England  States,  the  Middle  States,  and  two  or  three  of  the 
older  States  in  the  South.  Even  in  these  older  States, 
the  number  of  communities  in  which  the  book-buying  taste 
and  the  resources  available  were  sufficiently  important  to 
maintain  a  book-shop  was  very  restricted.  The  territory 
in  question  included  a  number  of  cultivated  readers,  but 
this  number  was  at  best  but  limited.  Mr.  Duyckinck 
undertook  to  reach  these  readers  with  such  literature  as 
the  Gesta  Romanorum,  Leigh  Hunt's  Italian  Poets,  the 
Tales  of  Zschokke,  Peacock's  Headlong  Hall  and  Night- 
mare Abbey,  etc.  In  printing,  nearly  forty  years  later, 
another  collection  of  literature  selected  from  works 
accepted  as  classics,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons  found  that  the 
literary  judgment  of  their  father's  old  editor  of  the  original 
House  could  still  be  made  serviceable.  A  number  of 
the  volumes  first  issued  in  1848-51  were  found  available 
for  the  series  of  1890.  The  buyers  who  were  reached  in 
the  earlier  period  were  undoubtedly  appreciative,  but 
there  were  not  enough  of  them.  Mr.  Duyckinck's  name 
has  been  preserved  for  later  generations  principally  in  con- 
nection with  his  Cyclopedia  of  American  Literature,  one 
of  the  first  of  the  really  important  attempts  to  present  the 
literary  record  of  the  Republic. 

In  1849  and  1850,  the  publications  of  the  House  inclu- 
ded, in  addition  to  some  of  the  books  already  named,  an 
early  volume  by  Mr.  Bryant  entitled  Summer  Excursions 
in  Europe  and  the  United  States.  This  was  not  considered 
by  its  author  of  sufficient  value  to  be  retained  in  later 
issues  of  his  writings.  Professor  Dana  of  New  Haven 
issued  through  the  House  an  important  series  of  works  on 
mineralogy  and  geology.  The  first  of  the  treatises 
devoted  to  the  study  of  Anglo-Saxon  that  had  as  yet  been 
printed  in  the  United  States  was  published  for  a  German 


Cooper  155 

scholar  (an  exile  of  1848)  named  Klipstein.  An  American 
author  whose  name  in  later  years  became  famous  among 
historians,  Mr.  Parkman,  published  through  the  firm  in 
1850  a  volume  entitled  The  California  and  Oregon  Trail. 
This  was  a  narrative  of  experiences  in  certain  regions  of  the 
Northwest  which  were  being  opened  up  in  connection 
with  the  gold-seeking  migrations  to  the  Pacific  coast. 
The  subject  was  of  present  and  continued  importance 
and  the  author's  style  was  as  dramatic,  though  possibly 
not  quite  as  finished,  as  that  of  his  later  books.  For  some 
reason,  difficult  at  this  time  to  realise,  the  public  refused 
to  be  interested  in  the  volume.  The  author  was  dis- 
couraged and  decided  that  he  had  mistaken  his  vocation. 
It  was  nine  years  before  he  again  mustered  sufficient 
courage  to  make  a  further  experiment  in  authorship. 
The  publication  in  1859  of  the  first  of  his  magnificent  series 
of  volumes  devoted  to  the  history  of  the  long  struggle  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  France  for  the  control  of  the  con- 
tinent, secured  for  Parkman  an  honoured  position  among 
historians.  This  production  of  1850  is  now  included  in 
the  set  of  his  Works. 

In  the  following  letter,  Air.  Cooper  asks  my  father 
for  some  service  in  securing  an  English  publishing  arrange- 
ment for  his  Ways  of  the  Hour.  I  find  no  record  of  the 
results  of  the  negotiations,  but  I  doubt  whether  the 
author's  expectations  from  the  English  market  were 
realised.  The  story  was  one  of  his  less  successful  efforts, 
and  the  piracies  of  Bohn  and  Routledge  were  making  it 
very  difficult  for  the  reputable  English  publishers  to  pay 
adequate  prices  for  American  books. 

Cooperstown,  July  23,  1854. 
Mr.  G.  P.  Putnam. 
Dear  Sir: 

Mr.  Bentley  has  sent  me  a  recent  decision  of  an  English 
Court  which,  as  he  pretends,  goes  to  affect  his  interest  in  my 


156  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

books.  He  sent  me  a  new  proposition  for  the  publication  of 
The  Ways  of  the  Hour,  that  I  have  declined  accepting.  Now, 
I  wish  to  know  if  you  cannot  dispose  of  this  book  for  me  to 
some  English  publisher.  I  will  pay  you  a  commission,  if  you 
can  do  it.  You  may  remember  that  I  before  spoke  to  you  on 
the  subject  of  Bentley,  and  of  my  distrust  of  his  candour.  I 
confess  that  this  last  circumstance  has  renewed  all  this  distrust, 
and  I  am  disposed  to  change  my  publisher. 

I  shall  expect  somewhere  about  £400  for  the  book,  to  be  paid 
in  drafts  on  the  publisher  at  60  days:  £100,  on  sending  vol.  I ; 
£100,  on  sending  vol.  II,  and  balance  on  sending  the  last  vol- 
ume of  the  work.  I  did  think  of  asking  £500  for  this  particu- 
lar book,  which  is  more  elaborate  than  its  companions,  but  this 
difficulty  may  compel  me  to  accept  even  £300.  There  has  cer- 
tainly been  a  decision  adverse  to  American  Copyright,  but  it 
is  evident  that  Bentley  himself  does  not  think  it  will  stand. 
Under  no  circumstances  will  I  sell  a  book  to  share  the  profits. 
This  is  of  the  nature  of  Bentley's  last  proposition,  though  he 
proposes  paying  me  down  for  a  certain  number  of  copies.  One 
has  no  guaranty  that  more  than  the  stipulated  number  are 
not  printed.  As  to  the  sincerity  of  Bentley's  proceedings,  I 
go  altogether  by  Mr.  Grattan's  statement  made  directly  to 
myself.  He  told  me  that  Bentley  spoke  of  the  small  number 
of  books  sold,  and  referred  to  a  ledger  to  prove  it.  One 
House  happened  to  be  known  to  Mr.  Grattan,  and  the  subject 
came  up  between  him  and  one  of  the  partners.  Grattan  men- 
tioned the  number  of  books  Bentley  told  him  they  had  pur- 
chased, and  the  partner  proved  by  his  books  that  a  little  more 
than  half  the  real  number  had  been  entered. 

Altogether,  I  do  not  like  Mr.  Bentley's  mode  of  proceeding 
with  myself,  and  am  not  sorry  to  get  a  new  publisher  for  this 
work.  If  you  can  dispose  of  it,  I  should  like  it.  Will  you  let 
me  hear  from  you  on  the  subject,  and  will  you  move  in  the 
matter  on  the  other  side  at  once. 

There  will,  of  course,  be  some  delay  in  the  publication  here, 
but  that  can  be  regulated  as  by  our  agreement.  The  cholera 
would  make  this  a  very  unlucky  moment  to  publish,  and  the 
book  will  be  all  the  better  for  the  delay. 


Henry  T.  Tucherman  157 

Let  me  hear  from  you  at  your  earliest  convenience.  I  think 
Colburn  might  be  induced  to  purchase.  There  ought  to  be 
no  delay,  as  the  work  will  be  ready  in  about  sixty  days. 

Yours  truly 

J.  Fenimore  Cooper. 

I  find  in  the  catalogue  for  1852  the  entry  of  a  volume 
of  poems  by  Anna  C.  Lynch.  Miss  Lynch  became 
later,  when  she  married  an  Italian  scholar  named  Botta, 
who  had  been  mixed  up  in  the  revolutionary  difficulties  of 
1848,  a  leader  in  the  literary  society  of  New  York.  She 
was  a  clever  woman,  with  a  graceful  social  faculty  and  with 
a  positive  genius  for  getting  hold  of  literary  lions.  She 
kept  in  touch  with  scholarship  while  never  claiming  to 
be  a  scholar.  A  manual  of  hers,  giving  a  summary  of 
the  literature  of  Europe,  proved  a  useful  and  remunera- 
tive publication.  Her  husband  took  rank  as  a  leader 
among  the  Italian  exiles.  He  was  an  early  member  of 
the  Century  Club  and  an  old-time  friend  of  my  father's. 

Henry  T.  Tuckerman,  a  lifelong  friend  of  my  father's, 
makes  his  first  appearance  in  the  catalogue  in  the  year 
1 852  with  a  volume  entitled  the  Optimist.  Mr.  Tuckerman 
was  a  scholar  and  a  thinker.  His  literary  style  was 
finished,  though  somewhat  inclined  (as  was  the  man  him- 
self) to  ponderosity.  He  had  studied  and  thought  to 
some  purpose  and  what  he  had  to  say  was  worth  attention. 
Neither  with  his  books  nor  with  his  magazine  articles  did 
he  ever  succeed  in  reaching  any  large  circle,  of  readers; 
but  his  work  was  creditable  to  the  literary  circle  of  New 
York  and  of  the  country.  A  volume  entitled  St.  Leger,  or 
The  Threads  of  Life  appears  in  the  list  of  this  year  without 
the  name  of  its  author.  A  year  later,  in  connection  with 
the  publication  of  Student  Life  Abroad,  this  first  bantling 
was  duly  acknowledged  by  Richard  B.  Kimball,  who  kept 
his  pen  busily  at  work  in  the  production  of  volumes  and 


158  George  Palmer  Putnam 

of  magazine  articles  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  later. 
The  list  for  the  year  closes  with  two  books  of  English 
origin,  Warburton's  The  Crescent  and  the  Cross,  and 
Titmarsh's  A  Journey  from  Cornhill  to  Cairo.  The  latter 
seems  to  have  been  the  only  volume  of  Thackeray's  with 
which  the  Putnam  imprint  was  associated. 

In  1852,  the  Rev.  Francis  Hawks,  D.D.,  published  a 
volume  entitled  Egypt  and  its  Monuments.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  Monuments  of  Central  and  Western  America. 
Dr.  Hawks  was  at  that  time  rector  of  Calvary  Church  at 
Fourth  Avenue  and  21st  Street.  He  was  a  successful 
preacher,  a  brilliant  speaker,  and  a  scholarly  writer.  I 
understand  that  in  certain  directions  of  investigation  he 
was  entitled  to  rank  as  an  authority. 

The  Monuments  of  Egypt,  which  was  the  most  successful 
of  his  books,  had  for  its  special  purpose  the  defence  of 
Exodus  as  a  trustworthy  history.  The  attempt  was  not  as- 
successful  as  that  made  some  years  later  by  Hugh  Miller 
with  his  Testimony  of  the  Rocks,  written  in  support  of  the 
cosmical  authority  of  Genesis. 

In  the  same  year  was  published  Kaloolah,  an  Autobio- 
graphical Romance.  It  was  first  issued  anonymously,  but 
was  later  acknowledged  by  its  author,  Dr.  W.  S.  Mayo. 
The  book  may  be  considered  a  precursor  of  the  romantic 
story  of  adventure  of  which,  in  speaking  to-day,  Treasure 
Island  would  be  cited  as  a  successful  example.  Dr.  Mayo 
had  the  advantage,  in  writing  half  a  century  back,  that  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  was  still 
unexplored.  This  left  him  free  to  place  an  imaginary 
kingdom  of  highly  civilised  people,  with  a  fascinating 
princess  to  serve  as  a  heroine,  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  in 
a  region  which  a  few  years  later  was  opened  up  by  Speke 
and  taken  out  of  the  realm  of  romance.  Kaloolah  made 
for  itself  a  noteworthy  success,  and  had  the  honour  of 
being  very  largely  pirated  in  Great  Britain.     It  is  still 


W.   S.   Mayo  159 

to-day,  sixty  years  after  its  first  publication,  in  print  and 
in  demand.  It  was  followed  by  Romance  Dust  and  The 
Berber.  The  author  had  fairly  won  his  spurs,  and  note- 
worthy things  were  predicted  for  him.  Unfortunately 
for  his  literary  achievements,  he  married  an  heiress.  His 
wife  was  a  Mrs.  Dudley,  who  had  been  a  Miss  Stuyvesant, 
and  she  brought  him  a  liberal  income  from  a  section  of 
the  great  Stuyvesant  property.  The  Doctor  resigned  his 
profession  of  medicine,  and  gradually  also  gave  up  his 
literary  ambition.  One  clever  book,  Never  Again,  was 
produced  during  his  married  life,  but  in  the  intervening 
years  his  energy  lapsed.     He  died  in  1896. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
International  CopyrigHt 

MY  father  had  not  only  always  been  a  strong  believer 
in  international  copyright,  that  is  to  say  in  the 
policy  of  extending,  irrespective  of  political  bound- 
aries, a  world-wide  recognition  to  literary  property,  but 
he  had,  from  the  beginning  of  his  career  in  the  book- trade, 
interested  himself  actively  in  the  work  of  shaping  American 
public  opinion  and  legislation  so  that  the  United  States 
might  be  brought  into  the  comity  of  civilised  nations  in  the 
recognition  of  the  rights  of  literary  workers.  His  sojourn 
in  England  and  his  intimate  relations  with  publishers  and 
men  of  letters  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  had,  of 
course,  furthered  his  personal  interest  in  the  subject,  but 
as  far  back  as  1837,  in  advance  of  his  first  trip  to  England, 
we  find  him  acting  as  secretary  and  as  working  man  for  the 
first  of  the  copyright  committees  of  which  there  is  record 
in  this  country. 

During  his  sojourn  in  England  in  the  years  between  1841 
and  1848,  he  had  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Sergeant  Tal- 
fourd,  who  was  not  only  a  leader  of  the  British  Bar,  but  a 
distinguished  man  of  letters.  Talfourd's  Copyright  bill, 
introduced  into  the  House  of  Commons  in  1841,  became 
law  in  1842,  but  the  bill  was  very  seriously  reshaped  before 
securing  enactment.  The  changes  were  chiefly  in  the 
direction   of  the   shortening  of  the  term  of  copyright. 

160 


Copyright  161 

Talfourd  had  proposed  a  term  similar  to  that  then  in  force 
in  Germany,  namely,  the  life  of  the  author  and  thirty 
years.  The  opponents  to  the  bill,  headed  by  Macaulay, 
thought  that  the  life  of  the  author  was  quite  sufficient. 
Macaulay 's  eloquence  was  sufficient  to  influence  the 
House,  the  majority  of  which  had  at  best  no  very  clear 
conceptions  about  literary  property.  The  term  as  fixed 
in  the  act  covered  forty-two  years  from  the  date  of  publi- 
cation, or  the  life  of  the  author  and  seven  years  thereafter, 
whichever  period  might  prove  to  be  the  longer. 

During  the  period  between  1842  and  191 1,  successive 
attempts  were  made  to  extend  the  term  of  copyright  for 
Great  Britain,  which  (with  the  exception  of  Greece,  where 
the  term  was  fifteen  years)  gave  a  shorter  protection  to 
literary  property  than  that  conceded  under  any  other 
European  law.  The  statute  enacted  in  191 1  accepted  the 
contention  of  Talfourd  that  an  author  should  be  at  liberty 
to  work  for  the  property  interests  of  his  children,  and 
gives  an  absolute  term  of  life  of  the  author  and  twenty- 
five  years,  with  a  contingent  term  for  twenty-five  years 
more.  This  provision  brings  British  copyright  more  nearly 
into  line  with  that  of  France  and  Germany. 

My  father  had  the  opportunity  of  going  over  with 
Sergeant  Talfourd  the  draft  of  his  bill  and  shared  his 
friend's  disappointment  when  the  measure  was  so  seriously 
undermined  by  the  all-powerful  influence  of  Macaulay. 

Some  sixty  years  after  the  enactment  of  the  Talfourd 
Bill  as  arrived  at  by  Macaulay,  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
suggesting  to  Sir  George  Otto  Trevelyan  that  his  distin- 
guished uncle  had  made  a  mistake  in  insisting  upon  the 
reduction  of  the  term  of  copyright  proposed  by  Talfourd, 
as  ever  since  1842  the  effort  had  been  to  secure  a  copyright 
term  based  upon  the  Talfourd  proposition.  "  I  have  rea- 
son to  agree  with  you,  Mr.  Putnam,"  said  Sir  George,  "and 
not  only  on  the  ground  of  the  interests  of  literature.     I 


162  George  Palmer  Putnam 

should  myself  be  a  good  many  thousand  pounds  better  off 
if  my  uncle  had  left  Talfourd's  bill  alone."  I  realised 
what  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  copyright  of  Macaulay's 
writings  must  have  meant  for  Macaulay's  heirs. 

Sergeant  Talfourd  writes  in  1844,  presenting  a  specific 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  status  of  a  work  by  a  foreign 
author  which  might  be  first  published  in  Great  Britain. 
He  says : 

I  am  happy  to  furnish  any  information  which  may  in  the 
smallest  degree  assist  the  endeavours  of  those  who  are  labour- 
ing in  the  cause  of  literature  and  in  justice.  In  my  judgment, 
no  further  legislation  is  required  on  the  part  of  England  to 
secure  to  American  authors  the  reciprocity  which  ought  to 
accompany  the  acknowledgment  by  the  United  States  of  the 
rights  of  English  authors.  Before  the  passage  of  my  Act  on 
the  subject  of  International  Copyright,  Lord  Abinger  decided 
in  the  case  of  VAlmain  vs.  Barry  that  a  foreigner  publishing 
his  work  in  this  country  within  a  reasonable  time  after  its  first 
publication  in  the  country  of  origin,  acquired  for  himself  or 
for  his  assignee  copyright  within  the  protection  of  the  law  of 
England.  I  believed  this  decision  to  be  correct  but,  finding 
that  doubts  existed  on  the  subject,  I  was  desirous  of  setting 
these  at  rest  by  a  declaratory  clause  in  my  own  Bill.  I  there- 
fore introduced  the  subject  in  my  first  speech  in  the  House  of 
Commons  and  presented  a  clause  in  the  Bill  to  effect  the  object. 
When,  however,  the  Bill  was  discussed  in  a  later  session,  Mr. 
Powlett  Thompson  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  requested 
me  to  leave  that  part  of  my  scheme  in  the  hands  of  Ministers 
who  proposed  to  deal  with  it  themselves.  I  acquiesced ;  and  the 
result  was  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  "  2  &  3  Victoria  c  59  "  for  se- 
curing "to  authors  in  certain  cases  the  benefit  of  International 
Copyright,"  whereby  the  Queen  is  empowered,  by  Order  in 
Council,  to  direct  that  the  authors  of  books  published  in  foreign 
countries  should  have  copyright  in  Great  Britain  in  their 
works  on  registering  these  at  Stationer's  Hall.  The  object 
of  this  Act  was  to  enable  our  Government  to  ncgociate  with 


CopyrigKt  163 

foreign  Powers  on  terms  of  reciprocity;  and  if,  therefore,  I  am 
wrong  in  thinking  that  the  Law  now  gives  absolutely  the  right 
which  the  Act  enables  the  Crown  as  a  matter  of  bargain  to 
confer,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  upon  the  understanding 
that  the  copyright  of  English  authors  would  be  enjoyed  in 
America,  the  benefits  of  this  Act  would  be  at  once  cordially 
extended  to  American  authors.  This  Act  assumes,  it  may  be 
admitted,  an  opinion  contrary  to  that  of  Lord  Abinger  as  to 
the  existing  law,  but  it  does  not  vary  it  and  perhaps  practically 
it  is  not  material  whether  it  was  necessary  or  not,  as  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  it  would  be  promptly  and  liberally  enforced 
for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  created. 

Heartily  wishing  success  to  your  endeavours  to  do  justice 
to  the  authors  of  both  countries,  I  have  the  honour  to  be 
Your  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

T.  N.  Talfourd 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  in  July,  1891,  the  Law- 
Officers  of  the  Crown,  having  been  called  upon  in  connec- 
tion with  the  American  Act  of  March,  1891,  to  give  an 
opinion  concerning  the  status  at  the  time  (under  the  Tal- 
fourd Act)  of  copyright  in  Great  Britain  for  works  of 
American  authors,  made  a  report  which  was  in  substance 
in  accord  with  the  opinion  of  Sergeant  Talfourd. 

My  father's  correspondence  in  regard  to  copyright  dur- 
ing the  years  between  1840  and  1872  gives  evidence  that 
he  had  a  good  grasp  of  the  principles  which  should  control 
the  shaping  of  copyright  statutes.  The  matter  was  at 
that  time  interesting  but  few  people  on  either  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  the  impressions  in  regard  to  it  on  the  part  of 
the  legislators,  as  well  as  of  citizens  generally,  were  con- 
fused. The  opinion  held  by  not  a  few  Americans  that 
the  recognition  of  the  property  rights  of  transatlantic 
authors  must  stand  in  the  way  of  the  literary  development 
of  the  country  was,  as  my  father  pointed  out,  based  upon 
an  absolutely  erroneous  impression  of  the  character  of 


164  George  Palmer  Putnam 

publishing  undertakings  and  of  the  methods  under  which 
literature  is  provided  for  the  use  of  the  book-buying 
public.  He  pointed  out  that  the  investment  of  capital 
required  for  publishing  undertakings  could  be  made  only 
when  the  investors  could  secure  under  the  law  the  control 
of  the  property  which  they  had  helped  to  create,  and  could 
be  placed  in  a  position  to  obtain  from  the  use  of  such  pro- 
perty (through  the  sale  of  authorised  editions)  the  returns 
belonging  to  and  required  by  the  author,  and  the  further 
returns  that  had  to  be  depended  upon  if  capital  were  to  be 
interested  in  future  similar  investments.  It  was  true  that 
a  payment  to  a  transatlantic  author  must,  of  necessity, 
constitute  a  factor  in  the  cost  of  producing  the  authorised 
American  edition  of  his  book  and  might,  therefore,  affect 
the  selling  price.  It  was  also  true,  however,  that  in  the 
larger  number  of  cases,  no  American  editions  of  such  trans- 
atlantic books  would  be  produced  at  all  unless  the  pub- 
lishers might  be  protected  under  the  law  in  the  control  of 
the  market  for  which  the  edition  was  prepared.  It  was 
true  that  in  the  absence  of  the  copyright,  publishers  could 
and  did  in  their  scrambling  competition  bring  into  print 
cheap  American  editions  of  certain  of  the  writings  of  the 
more  popular  transatlantic  authors.  Such  editions  were, 
however,  "cheap"  in  more  ways  than  one.  The  price 
charged  was  not  high,  but  the  books  gave  very  little  for 
the  money.  Being  produced  under  the  pressure  of  compe- 
tition, they  were  not  only  badly  printed,  but  the  text  was 
usually  inaccurate  and  quite  often  incomplete.  My  father 
prophesied  that  when  American  publishers  could  be  placed 
in  a  position  to  issue  under  due  protection  of  copyright 
authorised  editions  of  transatlantic  as  well  as  of  American 
authors,  they  would,  as  a  matter  of  good  business,  take 
pains  to  print  these  editions  in  the  form  and  at  the  price 
that  were  best  suited  to  meet  the  requirements  of  American 
readers — readers  who  were  largely  then,  as  now,  unwilling 


Copyright  165 

to  pay  high  prices  for  books,  and  this  prophecy  has,  during 
the  years  since  1891,  been  satisfactorily  fulfilled. 

He  was  able,  of  course, '  to  point  out  the  European 
examples  for  such  a  result.  He  could  cite,  as  I  myself  had 
the  opportunity  of  citing  thirty  years  later,  the  cheap 
editions  of  German  books  produced  after  the  German 
states  had  come  into  copyright  relations  with  each  other. 
He  showed  that  German  readers  secured  better  literature 
at  a  lower  price  after  the  piracy  editions  had  been  brought 
to  a  close  under  interstate  copyright  than  had  ever  been 
possible  before.  My  father's  correspondence  also  pointed 
out  the  importance  of  securing  a  fair  field  in  their  home 
country  for  the  works  of  American  authors.  When  trans- 
atlantic material  could  be  appropriated  without  charge, 
it  was  naturally  more  difficult  for  an  American  author 
to  induce  the  American  publisher  to  make  more  or  less 
speculative  investments  in  the  production  of  American 
books.  The  lack  of  copyright  had,  of  course,  as  pointed 
out  by  many  besides  my  father,  seriously  interfered 
with  the  development  of  American  literature.  American 
authors  were,  of  course,  also  entitled  to  secure  a  return 
from  their  transatlantic  readers .  There  has  during  the  last 
seventy  years  been  an  enormous  increase  in  the  interest 
on  the  part  of  English  readers  in  the  works  of  American 
writers,  but  even  as  far  back  as  1847,  the  list  of  American 
books  reprinted  in  England  was  very  much  more  consider- 
able than  had  been  realised  until  my  father  brought  the 
record  into  print  in  his  American  Facts.  Naturally, 
the  majority  of  these  books  were  printed  without  arrange- 
ment and  without  payment.  The  English  publishers, 
like  their  American  competitors,  were  quite  ready  to  take 
what  they  wanted  without  troubling  themselves  to  secure 
permission  from  the  producer. 

In  1840,  my  father  printed  in  pamphlet  form  an  argu- 
ment in  behalf  of  international  copyright,  in  which  were 


166  George  Palmer  Putnam 

rehearsed  the  considerations  and  opinions  with  which  we 
are  now  familiar. 

In  1843,  during  a  visit  to  New  York  from  London,  he 
drafted  a  memorial  to  Congress  in  behalf  of  an  interna- 
tional copyright  measure,  in  which  it  was  stated  that 
the  "absence  of  an  international  copyright  was  alike  in- 
jurious to  the  business  of  publishing  and  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  people  at  large."  He  secured  for  this  memorial 
the  signatures  of  ninety-seven  publishers  and  printers. 

On  his  return  to  New  York  in  1848,  my  father  promptly 
again  took  up  the  work  of  educating  opinion,  first,  in  the 
book -trade,  then  with  the  general  public,  and,  finally,  in 
the  national  Legislature,  in  behalf  of  a  measure  for  inter- 
national copyright. 

In  1848,  he  drafted,  as  Secretary  of  the  Copyright  Com- 
mittee, a  memorial  which  bore  the  signatures  of  W.  C. 
Bryant,  John  Jay,  and  other  distinguished  citizens,  de- 
manding a  measure  of  copyright  that  was  very  similar  in 
its  provisions  to  the  act  which  finally  became  law  in  189 1. 
The  memorial  was  ordered  printed  and  was  referred  to  a 
select  committee  of  the  House,  from  which  no  report  was 
made. 

Mr.  Putnam  brought  into  print,  during  the  years 
between  1849  and  1853,  a  number  of  letters,  written  largely 
in  reply  to  the  assaults  upon  the  copyright  movement  by 
a  group  of  opponents  headed  by  Henry  C.  Carey,  the  well- 
known  protectionist  of  Philadelphia.  Under  the  lead  of 
Mr.  Carey,  the  Philadelphia  School  of  Political  Science 
was  successful  at  this  time,  and  for  a  series  of  years  to 
come,  in  heading  off  any  legislation  having  for  its  purpose 
the  recognition  of  the  rights  of  foreign  authors  or  the 
securing  of  that  same  recognition  in  Europe  for  American 
authors. 

Mr.  Carey  took  a  "missionary"  view  of  the  under- 
taking.    He   had    convinced    himself  that  international 


CopyrigKt  167 

copyright  would  constitute,  not  only  an  invasion  of  the 
individual  rights  of  American  citizens,  but  a  most  serious 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  higher  education  and  intellec- 
tual development  of  the  people.  His  Letters  on  Interna- 
tional Copyright,  first  published  in  1853,  and  republished 
frequently  thereafter,  brought  together  the  most  ef- 
fective group  of  arguments  in  opposition  to  the  theories 
of  the  reformers.  His  opposition  was  continued  by  his 
sons  and  his  grandsons.  As  late  as  1891,  Henry  Carey 
Baird  did  what  was  in  his  power  to  influence  public 
opinion  in  Pennsylvania  and  in  Washington  against  the 
movement  in  behalf  of  international  copyright,  a  move- 
ment which  finally  succeeded  (notwithstanding  the  oppo- 
sition of  Pennsylvania)  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  act 
of  that  year. 

The  work  of  the  New  York  committee  was,  of  course, 
not  limited  to  New  Yorkers.  Edward  Everett  took  a  cor- 
dial interest  in  the  undertaking  and,  as  Secretary  of  State 
in  1854,  appears  to  have  done  what  was  then  practicable 
to  bring  about  a  convention  with  Great  Britain.  He  writes 
to  my  father  on  the  5th  of  April,  1854,  a  letter  in  which  he 
emphasises  the  special  difficulties  in  the  way,  and  encloses 
a  memorandum  of  the  British  Minister,  Mr.  Compton, 
expressing  objections  to  the  scheme  as  proposed  by  the 
American  Government.  Mr.  Everett  asks  my  father  to 
analyse  and  to  reply  to  these  objections.  I  do  not  find 
the  copy  of  the  answer  given  by  my  father,  but  the  pro- 
posed convention  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  failed.  The  difficulty  then,  as  later,  was  due  chiefly 
to  the  requirement  on  the  part  of  American  printers  that 
foreign  books  securing  American  copyright  should  be 
manufactured  in  this  country.  It  is  also  the  case  that 
the  publishing  firms  were  at  that  time  by  no  means  united 
in  their  opinions  or  in  their  action. 

In  1853,  as  Secretary  of  the  newly  reorganised  Copy- 


168  George  Palmer  Putnam 

right  League,  my  father  drafted  a  letter  to  Mr.  Everett, 
Secretary  of  State,  suggesting  a  copyright  convention  with 
Great  Britain  and  an  arrangement  for  a  copyright  treaty 
substantially  identical  in  its  provisions  with  those  con- 
tained in  the  Act  of  1891.  This  letter  was  signed  by 
Charles  Scribner,  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  Mason  Bros.,  C.  S. 
Francis,  and  others. 

In  1858,  this  same  committee  prepared  an  international 
copyright  bill  containing  similar  provisions.  The  bill 
was  introduced  by  Edward  Jay  Morris,  of  Philadelphia, 
but  was  never  reported  in  the  Committee. 

In  1868,  a  circular  letter  headed  "Justice  to  Authors 
and  Artists"  was  issued  by  a  committee  composed  of 
George  P.  Putnam,  Chairman;  Dr.  S.  Irenaeus  Prime, 
Henry  Ivison,  and  James  Parton.  As  a  result  of  this 
letter,  the  American  Copyright  Association  was  organised, 
with  William  C.  Bryant  as  President,  Geo.  Wm.  Curtis, 
Vice-President,  and  E.  C.  Stedman  and  George  P.  Putnam, 
Secretaries.  This  association  drafted  the  bill  which  later 
in  the  year  was  presented  to  the  House  by  Mr.  J.  D. 
Baldwin,  of  Worcester,  Mass.  This  bill  was  referred  to 
the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library,  from  which  it  never 
emerged. 

In  1 87 1,  the  Copyright  Association  was  able  to  secure 
the  interest  of  Mr.  Cox,  of  Ohio,  and  through  him  they 
introduced  a  bill  which  was  practically  identical  in  its 
provisions  with  the  bill  of  1868.  This  was  the  first  meas- 
ure that  reached  the  stage  of  discussion  in  the  committee 
of  the  whole,  but  it  never  got  any  farther. 

In  1872  was  brought  about  a  revival  of  the  Publishers' 
Association,  of  which  George  P.  Putnam  again  became 
Secretary.  An  agreement  was  reached,  or  was  supposed 
to  have  been  reached,  under  which  the  publishers  repre- 
sented (a  representation  that  included  all  the  leading 
Houses  in  the  country)  undertook  to  do  what  was  prac- 


Copyright  169 

ticable  to  bring  about  the  enactment  of  the  copyright  bill 
that  was  then  pending  in  the  House.  This  bill,  based 
upon  the  Baldwin  Bill,  had  been  redrafted  by  a  sub-com- 
mittee comprising  Wm.  H.  Appleton,  George  P.  Putnam, 
and  one  or  two  others.  My  father  went  to  Washington, 
in  November,  at  the  request  of  the  Publishers'  Association, 
to  do  what  might  be  practicable  to  get  the  bill  through 
the  Judiciary  Committee.  He  stated  to  the  Committee 
that  he  was  there  to  represent  the  interests  and  the  con- 
clusions of  the  general  Copyright  League  and  of  the 
Publishers'  Association,  and  that  these  two  bodies  were 
united  in  support  of  the  pending  measure.  He  was  not 
a  little  concerned  to  find  himself  confronted  in  the  Com- 
mittee Room  by  a  lawyer  who  claimed  to  be  representing 
Harper  &  Brothers,  and  who  said  he  was  there  to  oppose 
the  bill  on  behalf  of  his  clients.  It  had  not  been  under- 
stood at  the  time  of  the  latest  meeting  of  the  Publishers' 
Association  that  the  Harpers  were  opposed  to  the  bill  or 
that  they  intended  to  antagonise  it.  My  father's  per- 
sonal disappointment  and  annoyance  were  naturally  keen. 
The  bill  itself  never  got  out  of  committee.  Senator  Lot 
M.  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  the  Chairman  of  the  Library 
Committee,  in  making  an  adverse  report  to  the  con- 
sideration by  Congress  of  any  international  copyright 
bill,  took  the  ground,  naturally  enough,  that  "there  was 
no  unanimity  of  opinion  among  those  interested  in  the 
measure." 

Fifteen  years  later,  the  Harpers  who  were  then  directing 
the  affairs  of  the  House  had  convinced  themselves  that 
their  interests  were  not  adverse  to  international  copyright, 
and  I  was  able,  having  succeeded  my  father  as  Secretary 
of  the  Publishers'  Copyright  League,  to  maintain  before 
the  Judiciary  Committee  the  contention  that  the  publish- 
ers were  united  in  support  of  the  measure  and  had  author- 
ised me  to  speak  for  them ;  and  the  international  copyright 


170  George  Palmer  Putnam 

for  which  my  father  had  laboured  for  nearly  one  third  of 
a  century  was  at  last  brought  about.  This  journey  to 
Washington  was  the  last  piece  of  public  service  that  my 
father  was  able  to  attempt.  The  fatigue  of  the  journey 
and  the  disappointment,  not  only  at  the  failure  of  the 
undertaking,  but  at  the  annoyance  that  question  should 
have  been  raised  in  the  Committee  concerning  his  right 
to  speak  as  a  representative  of  the  publishers,  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  bringing  on  the  fit  of  exhaustion  that 
caused  his  death  a  few  weeks  later. 


CHAPTER  IX 
"Putnam's   Monthly" 

IN  January,  1853,  the  publication  of  Putnam's  Monthly 
Magazine  was  begun.  The  editorial  department 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Charles  F.  Briggs,  who 
had  had  more  or  less  journalistic  experience  under  the 
nom  de  plume  of  "Harry  Franco."  The  time  seemed 
propitious  for  such  an  undertaking  as  the  young  publisher 
had  planned.  The  existing  magazines  were  either  very 
local  in  their  character,  or,  like  Harper's  Monthly,  which 
had  been  started  about  1848,  were  dependent  for  their 
contents  chiefly  upon  material  which  had  been  selected, 
that  is  to  say,  appropriated,  from  British  periodicals. 
With  a  judicious  selection  of  the  best  magazine  material 
that  was  available  in  Great  Britain,  Harper's  had  secured 
for  itself  a  very  satisfactory  popular  success. 

An  instance  of  the  class  of  difficulties  occurring  in  con- 
nection with  the  scissors  editorial  method  is  referred  to 
in  the  Putnam's  Monthly  correspondence  of  1854.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Bethune  had  written  a  story  for  Putnam's 
Monthly  which  was  clever  enough  to  have  earned  the 
compliment  of  being  copied  (without  credit)  into  a  Lon- 
don magazine  entitled  Eliza  Cook's  Journal.  From  the 
English  magazine,  Dr.  Bethune's  story  was  copied,  again 
without  credit,  by  Harper's  Magazine,  where  it  came  into 
print  three  months  after  its  original  issue  in  Putnam's. 

171 


172  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

A  Western  editor,  giving  what  was  intended  to  be  a  com- 
plimentary reference  to  the  enterprise  of  Putnam's,  spoke 
of  it  as  having  "gotten  the  start"  of  Harper  by  making 
the  first  appropriation  from  Eliza  Cook's  Journal.  The 
Western  writer  ought,  of  course,  to  have  been  aware  that, 
under  the  uniform  policy  of  Putnam's,  it  copied  no  articles 
whatsoever,  but  was  made  up  entirely  of  original  and 
copyright  material.  My  father  had,  of  course,  a  good 
technical  claim  against  Harper  &  Bros,  for  the  infringe- 
ment of  his  copyright  in  the  Bethune  story.  The  Harpers 
had,  as  indicated  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  caused  him 
serious  annoyance  and  loss  through  the  issue  of  unau- 
thorised editions  of  English  books  for  which  he  had  made 
substantial  payments.  He  took  the  position,  however,  that 
he  was  unwilling  to  make  a  claim  for  damages  on  the 
ground  of  an  action  that  was  manifestly  an  error.  He 
sent  to  the  office  of  Harper's  Monthly  a  copy  of  Putnam's 
Magazine  containing  the  Bethune  story,  with  the  word 
that  their  editor  had  "evidently  made  a  mistake,"  and 
in  this  instance  at  least  he  received  a  formal  apology. 

The  magazine  which  was  next  in  importance  to  Harper's, 
and  which  had  in  fact  preceded  it  by  some  years,  was  the 
Knickerbocker.  This  was  for  many  years  conducted  by 
Charles  Gaylord  Clark.  It  had  been  founded  in  the  early 
forties  and  continued  in  existence  until  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War.  As  was  indicated  by  its  name,  it  was  intended 
to  present  particularly  the  spirit  of  the  literature  of  New 
York,  and  its  contributors  were  chiefly  writers  of  the  New 
York  circle.  In  Philadelphia,  a  somewhat  similiar  posi- 
tion was  held  by  Sartain's  Magazine,  the  founding  of 
which  dated  back  earlier  in  the  century.  A  rather  larger 
circle  was  doubtless  reached  by  Godey's  Ladies'  Book, 
but  this  never  aspired  to  be  considered  an  exponent  of 
literature.  Somewhat  more  ambitious  in  its  literary 
features   was   Peterson's   Monthly   Magazine.     Its  pages 


"  Putnam's  MontKly"  173 

contained  a  very  large  proportion  of  fiction,  and  when 
dramatic  or  melodramatic  stories  were  not  easily  attain- 
able within  reach  of  Philadelphia,  the  range  of  which  in- 
cluded a  considerable  group  of  writers  in  the  Southern 
States,  the  editor  of  Peterson  s,  like  the  editor  of  Harper's, 
found  British  material  very  handy. 

As  is  stated  in  the  prospectus  of  Putnam's  Monthly,  it 
was  the  intention  to  present  a  magazine  made  up  entirely 
of  original  American  material.  Such  a  magazine  would 
at  once  be  an  exponent  of  the  literary  status  and  character 
of  the  American  writers  of  that  generation,  and  should 
also,  as  its  promoters  hoped,  itself  serve  as  an  incentive 
to  a  higher  literary  standard  and  a  more  satisfactory  lit- 
erary quality  for  periodical  productions.  It  was  also 
the  expectation  of  the  publishers  that  some  portions  at 
least  of  the  material  in  a  magazine  devoted  to  good  litera- 
ture would  be  available  later  for  reprinting  in  the  form 
of  books.  There  was  the  further  consideration  that  such 
a  magazine  could  be  utilised  as  effective  advertising 
machinery  for  increasing  lists  of  books.  In  1853,  no  such 
heavy  outlay  was  required  to  place  a  magazine  upon  the 
market  as  has  proved  to  be  necessary  in  these  later  periods 
of  magazine  competition.  My  father  told  me. that  as  far 
as  Putnam  s  Monthly  was  concerned,  he  actually  made 
no  cash  investment  other  than  the  payment  to  the  authors 
for  their  contributions  for  the  first  two  months.  The  re- 
ceipts from  subscriptions  and  sales  proved  to  be  sufficient, 
before  the  time  came  for  the  settlement  of  the  bills  of  the 
printers  and  the  paper-makers,  to  provide  the  necessary 
resources  for  these.  The  circulation  of  the  magazine 
during  the  four  years  of  its  existence  ranged  from  12,000 
to  20,000  copies.  In  these  days  of  heavy  expenditures 
for  contributions  of  leading  authors  (expenditures  which 
under  the  competition  of  the  rival  magazines  have  been 
pushed 'up  to  very  speculative  figures),  and  of  the  further 


174  George  Palmer  Putnam 

expenditures  which  are  considered  necessary  for  the  de- 
signing and  engraving  of  illustrations,  a  circulation  of 
less  than  100,000  copies  may  easily  mean  a  loss  instead  of  a 
profit.  What  was  called  the  normal  price  for  the  earlier 
contributions  to  Putnam's  was  $3  per  page.  The  more 
important  men  received  $5,  and  contributions  of  a  special 
character  were  paid  for  at  as  high  a  rate  as  $10.  Of 
poetry,  not  very  much  was  utilised,  but  such  verses  as 
were  accepted  (mainly  for  the  purpose  of  filling  up  any 
blank  half -pages)  were  paid  for  at  from  $10  to  $25  per 
poem.  I  do  not  find  record  of  the  amount  of  the  salary 
given  to  the  editor.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Briggs 
did  his  full  share  of  work  in  bringing  the  magazine  into 
existence  and  in  securing  for  it  a  literary  prestige  which 
sixty  years  later  is  still  remembered.  I  find  from  my 
father's  correspondence  book  that  the  publisher  himself 
gave  a  very  large  measure  of  personal  attention  to  the 
shaping  of  the  policy  of  the  magazine  and  to  the  securing 
of  co-operation  from  writers  who  were  prepared  to  interest 
themselves  in  carrying  out  that  policy. 

The  following  letter,  drafted  by  my  father,  bearing  date 
10  Park  Place,  October  1,  1852,  sets  forth  briefly  the 
general  purpose  and  character  of  Putnam's  Monthly  as  he 
had  planned  it : 

Sir: 

We  take  the  liberty  of  informing  you  of  our  intention  to 
publish  an  original  periodical  of  a  character  different  from  any 
now  in  existence,  and,  as  it  is  our  wish  to  have  the  best  talent 
of  the  country  to  aid  us  in  the  undertaking,  to  solicit  your 
assistance  as  a  contributor. 

We  purpose  to  publish  monthly  a  work  which  shall  combine 
the  popular  character  of  a  Magazine,  with  the  higher  and 
graver  aims  of  a  Quarterly  Review.  We  hope  to  preserve  in 
all  its  departments  an  independent  and  elevated  tone ;  and  we 
plan  to  make  it  as  essentially  an  organ  of  American*  thought 


"Putnam's  Monthly"  175 

as  possible.  The  want  of  such  a  publication,  we  believe,  has 
long  been  felt  in  this  Country,  and  it  is  only  after  mature  con- 
sideration, and  on  the  advice  of  some  of  the  most  eminent 
literary  and  scientific  men  of  the  Union  who  have  offered  us 
their  aid,  that  we  have  determined  on  the  attempt  to  supply 
such  want.  We  believe  that  the  facilities  connected  with 
an  established  publishing  business  will  enable  us  to  place 
the  work  at  once  on  a  high  footing,  and  beyond  ordinary 
contingencies. 

The  work  will  be  wholly  original,  and,  as  we  are  well  aware 
that  gratuitous  contributions  ought  not  to  be  relied  on,  even 
though  they  could  be,  we  expect  to  pay  as  liberally  as  the 
nature  of  the  work  will  allow,  for  all  articles  that  we  may 
accept. 

The  first  number  of  the  work  will  be  issued  on  the  first  of 
next  January;  it  will  contain  about  144  pages,  occasionally 
illustrated,  and  printed  in  the  best  manner,  and  will  be  sold 
at  $3.00  a  year. 

As  it  is  desirable  that  we  should  know  the  extent  of  our 
literary  resources,  we  shall  be  greatly  obliged  by  as  early  an 
answer  as  may  suit  your  convenience,  whether  or  not  you  will 
be  able  to  furnish  us  an  occasional  article,  and  if  you  will  be 
willing  that  your  name  should  be  announced  as  a  probable 
contributor.  Business  considerations  making  it  important 
that  no  publicity  should  be  given  to  our  design  before  all  our 
arrangements  have  been  completed,  you  will  oblige  us  by  re- 
garding this  as  a  confidential  communication  until  we  make 
our  public  announcement. 

We  are,  Sir, 

Yours  very  respectfully, 
G.  P.  Putnam  &  Co 

Manchester,  Mass., 
Oct.  15,  1852 
Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Co. 

Gentlemen:  Yours  of  the  first,  relating  to  a  proposed 
Magazine,  reached  me  within  a  few  days  only.  I  should  es- 
teem it  an  honour  to  have  my  name  associated  with  Mr. 


176  George  Palmer  Putnam 

lrving's  and  Mr.  Bryant's,  and,  would  it  help  your  purpose, 
should  gladly  give  it,  were  it  not  extremely  doubtful  whether 
I  shall  ever  again  be  a  contributor  to  any  periodical  work. 

With  all  the  aid  the  gentlemen  you  mention  may  afford  you, 
I  trust  that  you  mean  to  have  an  able  and  responsible  editor, 
in  whom  you  can  confide,  and  to  whom  you  will  give  full 
powers.  A  periodical  work  can  scarcely  get  on  well  for  any 
length  of  time,  without  such  a  head. 

When  you  speak  of  the  intended  Magazine  being  "essentially 
an  organ  of  American  thought,"  you  mean,  I  trust,  that  the 
works  and  subjects  upon  which  it  will  treat  will  be  principally 
American.  You  are  not  going  to  put  in  a  spade  to  help  dig 
the  ditch  (which  some  in  your  city  are  so  hard  at  work  upon) 
between  our  literature  and  that  of  our  Fatherland.  Those 
good  people,  labour  they  ever  so  hard,  stand  a  much  more 
likely  chance  of  being  sunk  in  the  mud,  than  of  ever  completing 
their  work. 

There  is  danger  even  in  that  which  I  have  supposed  to  be 
your  plan.  You  may  fail  to  interest  our  best  readers;  and, 
worse  still,  you  may  insensibly  lower  the  quality  of  your  work; 
for  that  will  be  affected  by  the  quality  of  that  of  which  it 
treats: — commonplace  will  beget  commonplace.  But  I  take 
it  you  do  not  mean  to  be  exclusive,  nor  so  very  American  that 
you  cannot  be  duly  English. 

Pardon  the  suggestions.  And  though  I  feel  it  right,  under 
the  circumstances,  to  decline  your  invitation,  believe  me  to  be 
a  well-wisher  to  you  in  your  undertaking 

With  great  regard, 

Gentlemen,  yours, 

Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr. 

Should  you  have  occasion  to  send  to  me,  please  direct  to 
Boston,  care  of  Richard  H.  Dana. 

Cambridge,  Oct. 
Mr.  G.  P.  Putnam. 

Dear  Sir:  I  shall  be  very  happy  to  contribute  occasionally 
to  the  pages  of  your  new  magazine,  but  wish  to  do  so  anony- 
mously.    At  the  same  time  I  shall  have  no  objection  to  have 


"Putnam's  Monthly"  177 

my  name  mentioned  in  the  list  of  contributors,  if  you  think 
it  worth  while. 

If  you  like  I  will  send  you  a  poem  for  your  first  Number. 
How  soon  shall  you  want  it  ? 

Yours  very  truly, 

Henry  W.  Longfellow 

Concord,  Mass.,  Oct.  n,  1852. 
Gentlemen  :  Nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  to  me  than 
the  establishment  of  an  American  Magazine  of  truly  elevated 
and  independent  tone,  and  if  you  shall  really  and  perseveringly 
attempt  that,  you  shall  be  sure  of  my  hearty  co-operation  and 
aid.  Perhaps  my  interest  in  such  a  project  is  even  more  serious 
than  your  own;  but  if  I  were  nearer  New  York  than  I  am,  I 
should  immediately  seek  an  interview  with  you  to  name 
certain  parties  whose  concurrence  I  think  important ;  and  now 
I  shall  esteem  it  a  favour  if  you  will  inform  me  who,  if  any 
there  be,  in  Boston  is  acquainted  with  your  design,  or  if  none 
there,  what  literary  man  in  New  York. 

Respectfully, 

R.  W.  Emerson 

Boston,  Nov.  8,  1852 

Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Co. 

Gentlemen:  I  have  delayed  answering  your  polite  re- 
quest longer  than  I  intended,  for  which  I  must  beg  you  to 
excuse  me. 

It  is  not  in  my  power  to  promise  at  present  to  be  a  contribu- 
tor to  any  periodical.  I  have  as  many  and  varied  occupa- 
tions as  are  necessary  to  take  up  all  my  time.  Otherwise  I 
should  have  much  pleasure  in  aiding  a  design  which  I  heartily 
approve  of  and  which  I  am  sure  you  will  carry  out  with  spirit 
and  talent.  Yours  very  truly, 

0.  W.  Holmes. 

New  York,  Nov.  5,  1852. 
G.  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 

My  dear  Sir:  In  answer  to  your  circular  letter,  I  may  say 
that  I  shall  be  glad  to  contribute  to  your  Magazine,  and  that 


178  George  Palmer  Putnam 

you  are  at  liberty  to  use  my  name  to  that  effect  if  you  think 
it  worth  the  while. 

Your  project  seems  to  me  to  have  a  very  unobstructed 
prospect  of  success  before  it,  so  far  at  least  as  any  domestic 
rivalry  is  concerned.  Harper's  Magazine  is  a  mere  stale  and 
dishonest  hash,  when  it  is  not  a  stupid  vehicle  of  Methodism; 
and  the  Knickerbocker,  I  presume,  will  -dly  stand  in  your 
way. 

Yours  very  truly 

H.  James. 
[Father  of  Henry  Tames,  Jr.,  and  of  Prof.  Wm.  James.] 

The  first  number  of  the  magazine  appeared  promptly, 
as  promised,  on  the  2d  of  January,  1853.  The  plan  was 
pursued  from  the  outset  of  printing  articles  without  the 
names  of  the  contributors.  The  leading  article  in  the 
pea-green  monthly,  following  the  introductory  paper  of 
the  editor,  Mr.  Briggs,  wTas  devoted  to  the  subject  of 
Cuba.  In  a  later  number  wras  given  as  a  frontispiece 
the  portrait  of  the  "author  of  Cuba,"  a  print  which  made 
clear,  to  New  Yorkers  at  least,  that  the  paper  was  the 
w^ork  of  the  clever  young  journalist,  Richard  B.  Kimball. 
Mr.  Kimball  takes  high  ground  in  his  paper  in  regard  to 
the  manifest  destiny  of  Cuba  to  become,  in  the  near  future, 
a  part  of  the  dominion  of  the  United  States.  He  refers 
to  the  offer  made  by  President  Polk  of  one  hundred  million 
dollars  for  the  purchase  of  the  island.  He  says  among 
other  things 

Cuba  is  oppressed  beyond  any  parallel  in  history.  She 
dreads  and  hates  her  oppressor.  She  longs  for  freedom.  She 
looks  for  aid  to  the  United  States  to  which  she  is  indebted  for 
nearly  all  her  late  improvements.  During  the  past  fifteen 
years  the  island  has  been  gradually  becoming  Americanised. 

It  is  his  conclusion  that  as  Spain  has  refused  to  make 
sale  of  the  island,  pressure  should  be  brought  to  bear  in 


"Putnam's  Monthly"  179 

whatsoever  way  may  seem  most  effective  for  its  annexa- 
tion, peaceably  if  possible.  He  looks  forward  to  the 
accomplishment  of  this  purpose  within  the  next  few  years. 
Mr.  Kimball's  premises  appear  to  have  been  fairly  correct, 
and  his  conclusions  have,  with  one  exception,  been  carried 
out  more  accurately  than  is  often  the  case  with  prophecies, 
but  his  few  years  extended  to  nearly  half  a  century. 

The  number  further  contains  a  paper  devoted  to  the 
"Homes  of  American  Authors,"  the  text  of  which  was  a 
volume  that  had  been  published  by  the  House  during  the 
holiday  season,  under  the  same  title.  A  further  article 
was  devoted  to  American  Spiritualism,  a  subject  which, 
in  connection  with  manifestations  in  Rochester,  the  doings 
of  the  Fox  family  in  Wayne  County,  the  investigations  of 
Robert  Dale  Owen  and  others,  was  becoming  an  active 
question  of  the  day.  A  series  of  papers  entitled  "Our 
Young  Authors"  is  initiated  by  a  study  of  Donald  G. 
Mitchell,  the  author  of  Reveries  of  a  Bachelor.  A  study 
of  the  exceptional  record  of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  is  the  most 
noteworthy  of  the  other  longer  articles. 

The  literary  editor  has  hardly  done  himself  justice  in 
the  paragraph  devoted  to  Thackeray's  new  romance, 
Henry  Esmond.     The  reviewer  is  permitted  to  say : 

In  our  opinion  the  book  is  anything  but  a  failure.  ...  It 
has  all  the  nice  power  of  observation  and  picturesqueness  of 
the  author,  but  as  the  scene  is  laid  in  past  times,  it  cannot  have 
the  freshness  and  truth  of  a  novel  relating  to  the  present  day. 
.  .  .  The  story  is  a  little  too  intricate  and  not  over  interesting. 

The  earlier  group  of  correspondence  which  went  out 
from  the  publishing  office  of  Putnam's  was  very-  largely 
directed  to  the  writers  of  New  England.  It  was  un- 
questionably the  case  that,  between  the  War  of  18 12  and 
the  Civil  War,  Boston  was,  as  nearly  as  any  one  place 
could  be,  the  centre  of  the  literary  activities  of  the  country. 


180  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

The  group  of  writers  whose  homes  were  within  reach  of 
Boston  was  considerable  in  number,  and  included  many 
names  which  will  hold  a  permanent  place  in  the  literature 
of  America  and  of  the  world.  Writers  outside  of  New 
England  who  were  ambitious  to  have  their  work  associated 
with  the  books  of  the  New  England  group  fell  into  the 
habit  of  sending  their  manuscripts  to  the  publishers  of 
Boston.  It  was  only  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  say 
from  1865  to  1886,  that  New  York  secured  an  assured 
pre-eminence  in  the  quantity  and  in  the  importance  of 
its  literary  output.  A  very  important  factor,  however, 
in  emphasising  New  York  as  a  literary  centre,  and  in 
bringing  the  influence  of  New  York  to  bear  upon  the 
work  of  encouraging  American  authorship,  was  the  pub- 
lication of  Putnam  s  Monthly  Magazine. 

Among  the  New  England  writers  from  whom  papers 
were  secured  for  the  magazine  during  the  first  year  or  two 
were  Lowell,  Hawthorne,  Holmes,  Longfellow,  Whipple, 
Agassiz,  Whittier,  James  Freeman  Clarke,  Lydia  Maria 
Child,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Elizabeth  Peabody,  George  S. 
Hillard,  Francis  Parkman,  James  T.  Fields,  Edward 
Everett  Hale,  and  Catherine  Sedgwick. 

Curtis,  whose  contributions  and  whose  editorial  work 
did  so  much  to  give  character  and  prestige  to  the  magazine, 
while  a  New  Englander  by  birth,  was  at  this  time  to  be 
classed  as  a  New  Yorker.  A  series  of  papers  by  Lowell, 
entitled  "A  Moosehead  Journal,"  formed  an  attractive 
feature  of  the  volume  for  1853.  Among  the  more  regular 
of  the  New  York  contributors  were  Parke  Godwin,  who 
for  some  time  had  the  responsibilities  of  the  political 
editorship  of  the  magazine;  Curtis,  previously  referred 
to,  whose  Potiphar  Papers  were  the  result  of  a  suggestion 
from  my  father  that  New  York  society  was  entitled  to 
some  attention;  Henry  T.  Tuckerman,  whose  pen  was 
always  in  readiness  for  work  on  out-of-the-way  historical 


"Putnam's  Monthly"  181 

subjects,  and  whose  papers,  while  sometimes  heavy,  were 
always  sound  and  full  of  information;  Charles  W.  Elliott, 
Richard  B.  Kimball,  Bayard  Taylor,  John  P.  Kennedy, 
whose  romances  Horseshoe  Robinson,  Swallow  Barn,  etc., 
had  gained  him  a  place  in  American  literature;  George 
Pomeroy  Keese,  who  interested  himself  particularly  in 
matters  connected  with  the  stage;  Leonard  Kip  of  Albany, 
who  devoted  himself  particularly  to  studies  of  the  Hudson 
River  Valley ;  Frederick  S.  Cozzens,  whose  most  successful 
contribution  was  a  series  entitled  "The  Sparrowgrass 
Papers";  Mrs.  Caroline  Kirkland,  critic  of  literature  and 
society;  Herman  Melville,  whose  most  important  con- 
tribution was  a  story  entitled  "Israel  Potter,  or  Fifty 
Years'  Exile";  and  Mr.  Bryant,  who  found  time  in  the 
midst  of  his  editorial  work  for  an  occasional  poem. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  character  of 
the  leading  articles  in  the  initial  number.  In  the  second 
number  of  the  monthly,  the  experiment  is  made  of  intro- 
ducing illustrations,  not  for  purposes  of  adornment,  but 
as  required  to  elucidate  the  text  of  the  first  paper  in  a  series 
entitled  "  New  York  Daguerreotyped. "  The  illustrations 
are  good  specimens  of  the  wood-cutting  work  of  the  time, 
but  do  not  attempt  any  artistic  effect.  A  bird's-eye  view 
of  New  York  looking  southward  from  Union  Square  pre- 
sents a  much  more  harmonious  effect  than  can  be  found 
in  a  similar  view  to-day,  in  which  the  sky-line  would  be 
broken  by  the  groups  of  American  "sky-scrapers."  The 
second  of  the  "young  authors"  who  receives  attention 
is  Herman  Melville,  who  had  already  made  his  mark,  and 
whose  most  noteworthy  volumes  have  retained  their 
fame  to  the  present  day.  The  article  which  was  really 
entitled  to  the  first  place  in  the  magazine  (although  it  is 
probable  that  its  literary  importance  was  not  recognised 
at  the  time  by  either  editor  or  readers)  is  entitled  "Our 
Best  Society."     It  is  the  initial  paper  in  the  series  which 


182  George  Palmer  Putnam 

was  later  known  as  the  Potiphar  Papers,  and  which  intro- 
duced George  William  Curtis  as  one  of  the  authors  of 
the  country.  The  interest  in  the  subject  of  Cuba  is  kept 
up  with  an  illustrated  article  on  Havana.  It  appears  to 
have  been  the  expectation  of  the  day  that  the  Democratic 
administration,  with  the  enormous  pressure  on  the  part 
of  the  slave  States  desiring  new  territory,  aided  by  a 
considerable  body  of  philanthropists  in  the  Northern 
States,  who  found  just  cause  for  indignation  at  the  Spanish 
misrule  in  the  island,  would  carry  through  the  policy  of 
annexation.  As  far  as  it  is  to-day  practicable  to  judge 
of  the  history,  I  should  imagine  that  the  defeat  of  annexa- 
tion was  chiefly  due  to  the  growing  belief  throughout  the 
Northern  States  that  the  slavery  influence  was  a  stronger 
incentive  than  the  desire  for  the  better  welfare  of  the 
Cubans,  and  that  the  country  could  not  well  afford  the 
addition  of  two  or  three  more  slave  States.  The  editor, 
Mr.  Briggs,  and  his  associate,  Mr.  Curtis,  and  also  their 
publisher,  were  in  cordial  sympathy  with  the  anti-slavery 
movement.  Further  reference  to  this  detail  will  be  made 
in  connection  with  some  of  the  later  numbers  in  which 
were  printed  the  political  articles  of  Parke  Godwin.  An 
article  which  made  a  very  much  larger  sensation  at  the 
time,  than  was  created  by  the  graceful  society  sketch  of 
Mr.  Curtis,  was  entitled  "Have  We  a  Bourbon  among  Us?  " 
The  author  was  the  Rev.  John  H.  Hanson,  who  had  for  a 
number  of  years  been  a  close  associate  and  friend  of  the 
Rev.  Eleazar  Williams.  Mr.  Hanson  had  convinced 
himself  that  Mr.  Williams  was  the  lost  Bourbon  prince 
who,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  Revolution  of  1789,  would 
have  ruled  in  France  as  Louis  XVII.  He  had  succeeded 
in  interesting  in  his  evidence  a  considerable  number  of 
people  whose  opinions  carried  weight,  and  among  others 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Hawks  of  Calvary  Church,  whose  conclusions 
on  a  matter  of  modern  history  were  likely  to  be  accepted 


Eleazar  "Williams  183 

as  authoritative  in  New  York  and  throughout  the  country. 
Mr.  Hanson's  argument  was  later  developed  into  a  book, 
which  secured  an  immediate  circulation  and  which  aroused 
a  good  deal  of  attention  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
It  seems  probable  that  Mr.  Williams  was  the  most  plaus- 
ible of  the  series  of  candidates  or  so-called  pretenders  to 
the  crown  of  the  lost  prince.  I  remember,  at  a  reception 
held  in  my  father's  house  in  16th  Street,  in  1853,  at  about 
the  time  of  the  publication  of  this  article,  being  introduced 
by  my  father  to  an  elderly  gentleman  with  a  pleasant  and 
rather  venerable  face,  who  patted  me  in  a  kindly  manner 
on  the  head,  and  being  cautioned  by  my  father  to  bear 
the  incident  in  mind,  as  it  might  be  the  only  occasion  in 
my  life  in  which  I  should  shake  hands  with  a  real  king.  I 
was  somewhat  puzzled  as  to  how  a  king  could  be  real  who 
had  no  kingdom,  and  it  was  some  years  before  I  under- 
stood the  history.  Mr.  Williams  died  in  1855.  He  was 
supposed  to  have  been  nine  years  old  in  1789,  and  he  had, 
therefore,  in  living  to  be  sixty-six,  nearly  filled  the  mea- 
sure of  his  years.  It  is  probable  that  in  his  later  years 
this  theory  of  his  royalist  ancestry  gave  him  a  fresh 
interest  in  life  and  secured  for  him  some  pleasurable  exper- 
iences that  would  certainly  not  have  been  attainable  for  a 
simple  Indian  missionary.  The  theory  of  his  ancestry,  how- 
ever pleasing  to  himself,  seems  to  have  caused  no  commo- 
tion in  the  France  of  Louis  Napoleon.  It  is  possible  that 
if  the  story  had  taken  shape  a  few  years  earlier  when  the 
Bourbon  Louis  Philippe  was  still  on  the  throne,  it  might 
have  had  a  larger  political  result. 

New  York,  Jany  24,  1853 
Rev.  E.  Williams. 

Reverend  Sir:  I  enclose  the  $15  which  Mr.  Hanson 
mentions  will  be  sufficient  for  your  expenses  to  New  York; 
and  should  be  very  glad  if  you  can  make  it  convenient  to  come 
down  soon,  to  be  here  on  Wednesday  the  1st  February,  or  on 


184  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  following  Wednesday.  We  are  anxious  to  make  use  of 
every  available  mode  of  throwing  light  upon  the  very  interest- 
ing circumstances  connected  with  your  life,  and  I  trust  we 
may  be  successful  in  arriving  at  a  satisfactory  result.  We 
shall  be  happy  to  give  you  a  room  for  a  few  days  in  our  house, 
No.  92  East  1 6th  Street.  If  you  see  Mr.  Hanson  first  he  will 
show  you  the  way. 

It  is  very  important  that  you  should  bring  the  daguerreo- 
types, and  all  correspondence,  etc.,  which  relate  to  the  subject. 

If  you  would  be  good  enough  to  send  a  line  by  mail  to  say 
when  we  shall  expect  you,  you  would  oblige,  Reverend  Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  servant, 

G.  P.  Putnam. 

In  the  third  number,  the  leading  position  is  given  to  an 
article  on  Japan.  The  writer  emphasises  the  value  for 
the  United  States  of  coming  into  relations  with  this 
Asiatic  power,  using  as  his  text  the  recent  expedition  which 
had  been  sent  out  by  the  Government  under  Commodore 
Perry.  In  the  earlier  months  of  1853,  the  actual  knowl- 
edge possessed  by  the  United  States  of  things  Japanese 
was  but  inconsiderable,  and  the  emphasis  laid  upon  the 
importance  of  Japan  in  the  future  history  of  the  world 
shows  some  prescience  on  the  part  of  this  particular 
student  of  current  pol  tics.  A  further  paper  is  devoted 
to  Cuba,  and  one  to  what  is  called  the  Woman  Movement, 
which  through  the  organisation  of  the  women's  suffrage 
associations  has  begun  to  assume  importance.  The 
editorial  division  of  the  magazine  gives  full  space  to  the 
purpose  of  the  International  Copyright  Committee,  in 
the  work  of  which  my  father  was  at  that  time,  as  ever, 
active.  There  appears  to  have  been  in  March,  1853,  some 
hopeful  expectation  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  the  Senate  in  forming  a  treaty  with  Great 
Britain. 

In  the  April  number,  the  leading  position  is  given  to  the 


"Putnam's  Monthly"  185 

Potiphar  Papers,  the  natural  inference  being  that  the 
importance  of  Mr.  Curtis's  clever  satire  is  beginning  to 
be  appreciated.  In  May,  is  begun  the  publication  of  a 
series  of  papers  by  Fenimore  Cooper  on  the  old  Ironsides, 
which  had  been  left  at  Cooper's  death  (in  1851)  practically 
in  readiness  for  the  press.  The  most  important  solid 
paper  in  the  number  is  devoted  to  Layard's  recent  dis- 
coveries of  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon.  The 
writer  of  the  article  believes  that  through  a  continuation 
of  similar  excavations  under  proper  scholarly  supervision, 
it  ought  to  prove  practicable  to  add  many  centuries  to 
the  recorded  history  of  mankind.  The  World's  Progress,  in 
the  edition  printed  in  1850,  following  Haydn's  Dictionary 
of  Dates,  had  quoted  as  the  year  for  the  creation  of  the 
world  the  date  fixed  by  Archbishop  Usher,  4004  B.C. 
It  is  fair,  however,  to  the  editor  of  The  World's  Progress 
to  say  that  he  took  pains  to  qualify  this  date  with  the 
words  "according  to  Usher."  The  discoveries  of  Layard, 
between  the  years  1850  and  1852,  gave  evidence  of  nations 
that  had  arrived  at  a  high  state  of  civil' sation,  and  places 
their  recorded  history  at  dates  estimated  from  2000  to 
2500  B.C.  Layard's  great  book  on  Nineveh  and  Babylon 
had,  as  before  mentioned,  been  published  by  G.  P.  Putnam 
in  co-operation  with  John  Murray.  Between  the  years 
1867  and  1 87 1,  the  investigations  of  George  Smith  in 
Mesopotamia  brought  to  light  records  on  clay  tablets 
which,  according  to  the  authorities  on  the  earlier  cuneiform 
characters  and  according  to  the  tablets  of  the  kings,  must 
have  been  put  into  shape  not  later  than  4000  B.C.  These 
dates  were  confirmed  and  in  some  instances  extended  by 
the  work  of  French  and  German  explorers  during  the 
succeeding  ten  years.  The  most  noteworthy  results  of 
the  century,  however,  have  been  secured  under  the  direc- 
tion of  an  American,  John  P.  Peters,  D.D.  The  expedi- 
tions initiated  and  directed  by  Peters  carried  on  their 


186  George  Palmer  Putnam 

work  between  the  years  1891-96.  These  brought  to 
light  buildings  for  which  the  dates  could  be  substantially 
fixed,  and  records  of  the  kings  and  other  tablets  which 
carried  back  the  recorded  civilisation  of  lower  Meso- 
potamia to  about  5000  years  B.C.  The  chronology  of 
Archbishop  Usher  might  well  have  been  corrected  in 
J853  by  the  publisher  of  The  World's  Progress.  It  now 
belongs,  of  course,  among  the  curiosities  of  history. 

In  the  June  number,  the  important  space  is  given  to 
the  expeditions  which  had  recently  been  fitted  out  in 
search  of  the  ships  of  Sir  John  Franklin.  This  paper  is 
followed  by  an  appreciative  article  on  Thackeray,  the 
text  of  which  was  a  recent  visit  of  Thackeray  to  the  States 
as  a  lecturer.  The  articles  descriptive  of  New  York, 
its  commercial  undertakings,  its  educational  institutions, 
the  plans  for  the  development  of  its  streets,  etc.,  are 
continued  through  the  year.  In  August,  1853,  the  initial 
article  is  devoted  to  the  scheme  for  the  Crystal  Palace, 
which  took  shape  in  New  York  in  the  following  year. 
The  management  of  the  New  York  Crystal  Palace  fell 
into  speculative  hands,  and  the  undertaking  failed  to  secure 
success.  The  failure  was  followed  by  the  destruction 
some  time  later  of  the  palace  itself  by  fire.  A  large  por- 
tion of  the  exhibits  were  destroyed,  and  the  suits  brought 
by  the  exhibitors  against  the  Crystal  Palace  Company 
for  the  value  of  these  exhibits  were  in  themselves  sufficient 
to  drive  the  company  into  bankruptcy.  The  glass  palace 
had  been  placed  on  the  Sixth  Avenue  side  of  Reservoir 
Square,  which  lies  between  40th  and  42d  Streets,  the 
square  to  which  has  since  been  given  the  name  of  Bryant 
Park  and  which  now  holds  the  magnificent  building  of 
the  Public  Library. 

The  failure  of  the  Crystal  Palace  Co.  was  something  in 
which  my  father  came  to  have  a  personal  interest.  In 
order  to  finish  the  record  of  the  palace  undertakings,  the 


The  Crystal  Palace  187 

matter  can  be  mentioned  here.  He  had  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  company  to  publish  the  official  cata- 
logue in  the  smaller  form  in  which  it  was  to  be  sold  to  the 
visitors  and  in  the  larger  volumes  which  were  planned  to 
preserve  a  permanent  illustrated  record  of  the  exhibits. 
Some  $30,000  was  invested  in  the  production  of  this 
series  of  illustrated  volumes.  The  indignation  of  the 
exhibitors  with  the  ineffective  business  management  of 
the  company  and  with  the  impossibility  of  securing  the 
value  of  the  exhibits  that  had  been  destroyed  by  fire, 
stood  in  the  way  of  any  continued  demand  for  the  illus- 
trated record  of  the  exhibition.  A  similar  record  which 
had  been  published  for  the  London  exhibition  of  1851 
had  brought  a  substantial  profit  to  its  publisher,  and  it 
was  with  the  knowledge  of  this  previous  undertaking  that 
my  father's  plans  had  been  shaped.  He  lost  through  the 
publication  and  through  the  default  in  some  of  its  contracts 
by  the  company  something  over  $30,000,  a  loss  the  results 
of  which  were  still  troubling  him  at  the  opening  of  the 
disastrous  year  of  1857. 

East  Windsor  Hill,  Jan.  27,  1853. 
My  dear  Sir  :  ...  I  do  most  sincerely  hope  and  trust  that 
the  Monthly  will  nourish  abundantly,  and  become  a  fixed  fact, 
and  a  standing  honour  to  yourself  and  to  the  literature  of  our 
country.  Our  native  authors  ought  to  support,  and  be  sup- 
ported, by  publications  of  the  kind,  whose  credit  should  rank 
above  competition  from  any  foreign  source.  The  overgrowth 
of  Magazines  made  up  like  "the  giant  of  the  Monthlies," 
however  advantageous  it  may  prove  in  the  dissemination  of 
instructive  and  entertaining  reading,  at  a  cheap  rate,  among 
the  people,  is  not  precisely  what  a  thoughtful  and  patriotic 
American  scholar  can  contemplate  with  entire  complacency. 
We  have  declared,  and  in  a  great  measure  have  achieved,  our 
independence  of  the  Old  World  in  matters  of  government, 
and  in  the  domestic  arts.     But  in  literature  and  in  the  fine 


188  George  Palmer  Putnam 

arts,  we  are  yet  in  the  midst  of  the  struggle.  The  successes 
and  disasters  of  publications  like  your  Monthly  serve  to  mark 
the  progress  of  the  conflict,  and  though  the  victory  may  not 
come  speedily,  it  is  nevertheless  bound  to  follow  by-and-by. 

Hoping  that  you  may  stand  firmly  against  foreign  invasion 
and  from  behind  your  intrenchment  of  corn-stalk  and  sugar- 
cane, though  with  no  better  weapons  than  old  continental 
fusees,  and  slugs  and  buckshot  manufactured  at  our  own 
firesides  from  household  pewter,  give  the  Hessians  as  good  as 
they  send — and  better,  I  remain 

Very  truly  and  respectfully  yours, 

Erastus  W.  Ellsworth. 

The  following  letter  to  the  brilliant  and  erratic  author 
of  The  Diamond  Lens  makes  it  evident  that  my  father 
preferred  to  utilise  his  services  as  a  contributor  rather 
than  as  an  editor. 

New  York,  Nov.  6,  1854. 
Fitz-James  O'Brien,  Esq. 

My  dear  Sir:  On  reflection  it  seems  to  me  hardly  likely 
that  your  views  and  ours  would  sufficiently  harmonise  for  so 
regular  and  permanent  a  connection  as  that  proposed — and 
although  I  should  on  many  accounts  be  glad  to  avail  myself 
of  your  valuable  co-operation  in  the  department  in  question, 
yet,  having  those  doubts,  I  think  it  best  to  state  them  frankly 
now,  before  there  can  be  any  disappointment. 

You  will  not,  of  course,  object  to  my  having  my  own  "no- 
tions" about  these  things,  even  if  they  are  whimsical — and 
I  trust  my  decision  in  this  matter  need  not  be  made  the  cause 
of  any  unpleasant  feeling.  This  remark  is  possibly  quite 
superfluous.  I  have  no  doubt  many  very  desirable  papers 
from  your  pen  will  be  gladly  inserted  in  the  Magazine  if  you 
are  so  disposed.  The  whole  management  of  the  Magazine 
is  a  matter  of  much  difficulty  involving  many  annoyances  and 
vexations — far  outweighing  its  immediate  profit;  and  it  is 
but  natural  that  I  should  wish  to  control  it  in  the  way  which 


"Putnam's  Monthly"  189 

seems  to  me  pleasantest,  without  being  too  strictly  accountable 
to  others  for  my  motives  and  reasons. 

Very  truly  yours, 

G.  P.  Putnam. 

"putnam's    monthly"    and    longfellow,    1854. 
(Printed  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post.) 

Littell's  Living  Age,  No.  529,  publishes  Longfellow's  poem 
of  the  "Two  Angels,"  and  credits  it  to  Bentley  s  Miscellany. 
This  poem,  as  most  intelligent  people  know,  was  written  for 
Putnam's  Monthly  and  published  in  that  Magazine  in  April 
last.  Bentley  then  appropriated  it  as  original  and  shamefully 
omitted  to  say  where  he  took  it  from;  and  now  Mr.  Littell 
(innocently,  of  course,  but  rather  carelessly)  copies  it  with  a 
credit  to  Bentley!  "Encouragement  to  original  genius"  is 
a  very  laudable  thing — but  if  choice  bits  of  this  kind  are  to  be 
appropriated  at  once  as  public  property,  and  not  only  so  but 
actually  credited  to  a  foreign  journal  that  has  stolen  them, 
while  the  original  publisher  who  alone  has  paid  the  author, 
and  paid  liberally,  is  wholly  ignored,  it  is  pretty  evident  that 
the  publisher's  "encouragement"  is  something  less  than  the 
author's! 

The  meanness  of  sundry  English  Magazines  in  this  particu- 
lar, viz. — appropriating  as  original,  in  their  own  papers,  the 
best  original  articles  of  American  periodicals  has  been  practised 
too  long.  As  to  the  appropriation  itself,  they  find,  of  course, 
abundant  examples  and  provocation  on  this  side — but  it  is 
not  a  general  practice,  to  say  the  least,  for  American  periodicals 
to  take  such  things  without  acknowledging  their  origin.  This 
is  a  meanness  of  which  several  popular  and  respectable  English 
Magazines — especially  Bentley  s — have  been  repeatedly  guilty. 
Indeed  it  is  an  every-day  matter  with  them.  American  re- 
publishers  from  English  Magazines  should  be  up  early  in  the 
morning,  therefore,  with  their  eyes  open,  if  they  would  avoid 
any  liability  for  taking  copyright  matter  belonging  to  their 
neighbours,  who  had  paid  for  it  in  just  the  same  way  that  they 
have  paid  for  their  pantaloons  or  their  bread  and  butter.     It 


190  George  Palmer  Putnam 

is  hardly  excusable  for  so  experienced  and  excellent  an  editor 
as  Mr.  Littell  to  pass  over  a  poem  by  Longfellow  when  it  first 
appears  in  an  American  Magazine  right  under  his  eyes,  and 
then  to  copy  it  two  months  later  from  an  English  Magazine 
as  a  foreign  production.  The  first  sin — as  in  the  case  of  Dr. 
Bethune's  story  in  Putnam 's  Monthly — is  the  Londoner's  who 
passed  off  other  people's  property  as  his  own — and  in  that  case 
the  same  sin  was  inexcusably  repeated  by  the  New  York  Maga- 
zine which  in  turn  seized  it  and  passed  it  off  as' its  own — for 
neither  appropriator  gave  the  slightest  kind  of  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  origin  of  the  assumed  property.  This  rather 
glaring  instance,  by  the  way,  although  commented  upon  very 
freely  at  the  time  by  the  press  seems  to  be  even  yet  grossly 
misunderstood  by  unthinking  people — even  by  editors.  Very 
recently,  a  Western  editor  spoke  of  Putnam 's  Monthly  having 
in  that  instance  got  the  start  of  Harper  in  copying  an  article 
from  Eliza  Cook's  Journal!  Most  of  the  schoolboys  know 
by  this  time  that  Putnam's  Monthly  copies  no  articles  whatever 
from  foreign  journals  but  is  wholly  original  and  copyright 
matter.  Dr.  Bethune's  story  was  written  for  Putnam's. 
Eliza  Cook  took  it  without  credit  as  her  own — and  thence  it 
was  copied  (again  without  credit)  into  Harper,  three  months 
after  it  had  been  first  published  in  Putnam's. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  copyright  or  of  the  reprinting 
— be  that  right  or  wrong — it  is  clearly  not  right  that  a  work  of 
genius,  for  the  right  of  circulating  which  a  publisher  has 
liberally  paid  the  author,  should  be  forcibly  seized  and  then 
advertised  as  belonging  to  somebody  three  thousand  miles  off. 

G.  P.  P. 

June,  1854. 

Newburyport,  May  27,  1854. 
Messrs.  Putnam  &  Co. 

...  I  have  long  wished  to  take  the  liberty  to  tell  you  how 
I  have  gloried  in  the  advent  of  such  a  periodical  as  yours, 
among  the  flying  literature  of  the  day.  And  from  its  begin- 
ning, as  my  friends  have  handed  me  in  their  numbers  to  read, 
I  have  exulted  in  its  existence,  as  what  had  till  then  been  the 
grand  desideratum  in  our  country.     Its  spirit  is  so  bright  and 


"Putnam's  Monthly"  191 

mild, — so  good-tempered  and  republican,  and  so  of  the  right- 
mindedness, — it  seems  like  a  joyous  unsophisticated  child 
playing  with  sunbeams,  and  caring  not  on  what  truths  or  ab- 
surdities they  fall,  so  that  they  do  but  show  off  truly  that  on 
which  they  strike,  making  the  gold  sparkle,  and  the  dross 
show  out,  as  what  it  is. 

I  know  not  if  it  imbibes  this  spirit,  and  inherits  its  honour- 
able name  as  lineally  descended  from  its  illustrious  namesake, 
the  heroic  Israel  of  the  Revolution,  of  whose  patriotic  valour 
my  father,  as  his  brother  officer,  used  to  tell  me:  but  from  its 
starting,  I  have  hoped  in  it,  as  a  publication  that  would  put 
to  flight  or  exterminate  some  of  the  wolves  of  the  day,  what- 
soever the  clothing  they  assume — whether  this  be  pernicious 
publication,  false  prophets,  or  fashionable  follies  borrowed 
with  ridiculous  inconsistency  from  monarchies  by  republicans 
who  boast  of  their  republicanism. 

I  have  hoped  also  that  it  was  going  to  be  instrumental  in 
establishing  "a  Bourbon  among  us."  For  that  there  is  one  I 
have  hardly  a  doubt. 

Excuse  the  liberty  I  have  used  in  this  prolific  address, 
which  had  perhaps  been  better  comprised  in,  God  speed  the 
Putnam's. 

With  much  respect, 

H.  F.  Gould. 


CHAPTER  X 
Publications  of  1851-5C) 

AMONG  the  more  noteworthy  of  the  publications 
that  came  into  the  book  list  of  the  House  during 
the  first  three  or  four  years  of  its  existence  may 
be  noted  the  following : 

The  Book  of  Home  Beauty,  edited  by  Mrs.  Caroline  M. 
Kirkland.  This  was  a  volume  that  was  hardly  to  be 
classed  as  literature.  It  was  made  up  of  twelve  portraits 
engraved  on  steel  with  some  descriptive  text,  the  subjects 
of  which  were  the  leading  ladies  of  New  York  society, 
or  at  least  such  among  these  ladies  as  had  been  willing 
to  lend  their  faces  for  the  purpose.  The  special  circle  in 
1 850  was  smaller  naturally  than  might  have  been  the  case 
half  a  century  later,  but  it  is  still  a  little  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  either  publisher  or  editor  could  have  had  suf- 
ficient daring  to  select  out  of  the  group  twelve  ladies 
accepted  as  the  most  beautiful.  One  can  easily  imagine 
certain  social  heart-burnings  as  resulting  from  this  volume. 
Whether  on  this  ground,  or  simply  because  there  was  in  fact 
no  actual  requirement  for  a  book  of  such  a  character,  the 
publication  proved  a  failure  and  resulted  in  a  substantial 
deficiency. 

The  Home  Book  of  the  Picturesque,  published  during 

the  same  year,  was  an  undertaking  of  a  different  and,  it 

is  fair  to  say,  of  a  higher  character.     American  landscape 

192 


John  F.   Kensett  193 

painters  were  doing  increasingly  good  work,  and  there 
was  every  reason  why  their  work  should  be  commemor- 
ated, although  here  also  the  method  of  reproduction, 
the  steel  plate,  left  much  to  be  desired.  John  F.  Kensett, 
whose  letter  follows,  became  a  close  friend  of  my  father, 
and  was  associated  with  him  in  the  Union  League  and 
Century  clubs,  and  later  as  a  summer  neighbour  at  Five 
Mile  River  on  the  Sound.  He  died  in  1872,  a  few  days 
before  my  father. 

New  York,  Nov.  15,  1851. 
Geo.  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 

My  dear  Sir:  The  parcel  containing  copy  of  the  Book  of 
the  Picturesque  with  its  accompanying  note  I  have  just  seen. 
Please  accept  my  best  thanks  for  the  gift.  It  is  a  beautiful 
book  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  its  success. 

I  cannot  say  that  I  am  satisfied  with  the  translation  of  my 
sketch  and  I  think  it  could  have  been  made  very  much  better 
with  very  little  work  had  I  had  a  proof  to  touch  up,  mats 
tiimporte. 

Should  the  success  of  the  present  book  warrant  a  repetition 
the  ensuing  year,  I  think  the  artistic  excellence  might  be 
greatly  increased  by  a  careful  selection  of  pictures  and  an 
equally  careful  revision  of  the  engraved  proofs  before  the  plates 
are  put  in  the  printers'  hands,  which  in  this  instance  time 
would  not  admit  of  being  done. 

Your  tempting  offer  of  an  exchange  of  our  respective  wares 
I  accept  with   great  pleasure,  and  as  I  shall  be  down  town 
early  in  the  week,  I  will  call  in  upon  you. 
With  much  respect, 

I  remain,  Dear  Sir, 

Very  truly  yours, 

Jno.  F.  Kensett. 

Charles  Astor  Bristed,  a  grandson  of  John  Jacob  Astor, 

who  had  taken  university  work  in  Cambridge,  described 

in  a  volume  entitled  Five  Years  in  an  English  University 

the  life  of  an  American  student  in  Cambridge.      The  book 

13 


194  George  Palmer  Putnam 

was  the  first  of  its  kind,  and  continued  for  a  long  series 
of  years  thereafter  to  be  accepted  as  an  authority.  Alary 
Cowden  Clarke,  whom  my  father  had  come  to  know  before 
leaving  London,  published  through  him  the  American 
edition  of  the  book  entitled  The  Girlhood  of  Shakespeare's 
Heroines,  a  book  which  has  remained  in  permanent  repute. 
Fenimore  Cooper  printed  before  1852  certain  of  the  vol- 
umes in  his  long  series  which  have  deservedly  remained 
the  most  popular.  The  catalogue  of  1851  includes,  by 
the  same  author,  a  Naval  History  of  the  United  States,  a 
book  which  has  furnished  material  for  all  later  historians 
of  our  navy. 

J.  D.  B.  De  Bow,  Professor  of  Political  Economy  in 
the  University  of  Louisiana,  published  in  three  large 
volumes  a  statistical  work  on  the  Industrial  Resources  of 
the  Southern  and  Western  States.  It  is  a  little  surprising 
to  find  a  work  of  this  character  coming  from  the  South. 
It  is  certainly  the  case  that  prior  to  1855  the  intellectual 
work  done  in  the  Southern  States  had  a  much  larger 
relative  importance  to  that  of  the  country  as  a  whole  than 
has  been  the  case  since.  De  Bow's  Review,  published^ 
I  believe,  both  in  New  Orleans  and  in  Washington,  pre- 
sented for  a  series  of  years  almost  the  only  political  eco- 
nomy and  political  science  which  secured  consideration 
in  any  of  the  American  periodicals  of  the  time.  S.  S. 
Cox  published  in  1851  a  story  of  travels  in  Europe  and 
the  Orient,  entitled  The  Buckeye  Abroad.  Mr.  Cox  was 
a  young  Ohioan  who  knew  how  to  observe  and  how  to 
describe.  He  came  later  into  Congress  where  he  remained 
an  active  figure  until  his  death  about  1889.  He  was  a 
Democrat,  but  one  of  the  group  that  gave  to  the  Govern- 
ment during  the  years  of  the  Civil  War  loyal  and  effective 
support.  He  associated  himself  actively  in  the  work  for 
international  copyright,  but  his  principal  achievement 
was  the  practical  creation  of  the  life-saving  service  of  the 


HawtHome  195 

coast.  He  served  a  term  as  Minister  at  Constantinople, 
and  published  later  through  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons  three  or 
four  pleasant  volumes  of  travel.  In  1851,  was  published 
Mosses  from  an  Old  Manse,  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne, 
whose  name  was  at  that  time  practically  unknown  in  the 
literary  world.  The  author  failed  to  secure  through  this 
first  book  any  such  favour  with  the  critics  or  with  the 
reading  public  as  might  have  been  expected  from  his 
later  position  among  the  great  creative  writers  of  the 
world.  The  fault  was  evidently  not  with  the  book,  which 
has  been  properly  placed  among  his  masterpieces,  but 
with  the  lack  of  understanding  or  appreciation  on  the 
part  of  the  public.  Two  years  after  the  publication  my 
father  was  able  to  report  a  total  sale  not  exceeding  750 
copies.  His  letter  to  Mr.  Hawthorne,  giving  this  result, 
expresses  naturally  cordial  sympathy  and  also  no  little 
surprise  at  the  lack  of  perception  on  the  part  of  the  public. 
At  the  time  that  this  letter  was  written,  the  manuscript 
of  The  Scarlet  Letter  had  been  completed  and  was  lying  in 
the  author's  desk  in  his  office  in  the  Custom  House  at 
Salem.  Discouraged,  naturally  enough,  at  this  unsatis- 
factory report  from  his  first  publisher,  Hawthorne  left 
this  new  manuscript  in  his  desk  for  a  year  or  more.  Some 
chapters  of  it  had  been  read  to  his  wife  and  to  a  few  per- 
sonal friends  in  Salem,  and  the  account  of  the  reading  had 
come  to  the  ears  of  James  T.  Fields,  a  publisher  whose 
literary  perceptions  were  of  the  keenest,  and  whose  publish- 
ing ambitions  were  large.  Fields  journeyed  to  Salem, 
secured  with  some  difficulty  an  examination  of  the  manu- 
script, and  succeeded  in  carrying  it  back  with  him  to 
Boston.  After  the  publication  of  The  Scarlet  Letter,  sug- 
gestions from  different  publishers  came  in  rapidly  to  the 
young  author.  Properly  enough,  however,  and  also  wisely 
from  a  business  point  of  view,  he  decided  to  keep  his  books 
grouped  together  in  the  hands  of  Ticknor  &  Fields.     My 


196  George  Palmer  Putnam 

father's  disappointment  in  failing  to  maintain  publishing 
relations  with  this  particular  author  was  the  keener 
because  Hawthorne  had  married  his  first  cousin,  Sophia 
Peabody,  and  the  expectation  was  that,  other  things  being 
equal,  Hawthorne's  material  should  be  placed  in  my 
father's  hands.  As  the  matter  had  shaped  itself,  however, 
my  father  could  make  no  objection  to  the  transfer  later 
to  Ticknor  &  Fields  of  the  first  book,  Mosses  from  an  Old 
Manse. 

A  letter  written  by  Hawthorne,  in  1839,  to  the  publisher 
of  the  New  York  Mirror  may  be  inserted  here : 

Jan.,  1839. 

Dear  Sir:  It  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  comply  with 
your  proposition  in  regard  to  contributions  for  the  Mirror, 
so  far  as  it  may  be  in  my  power.  I  think  I  can  furnish  the  five 
articles  within  the  year,  at  furthest — and  perhaps  much  sooner. 
Just  at  the  moment  I  am  undergoing  somewhat  of  a  metamor- 
phosis; for  Mr.  Bancroft  has  formed  so  high  an  opinion  of  my 
capacity  for  business  as  to  offer  me  the  post  of  Inspector  in 
the  Boston  Custom  House — and  as  I  know  nothing  to  the 
contrary  of  my  suitableness  for  it  (knowing  nothing  about  the 
matter),  I  have  determined  to  accept.  I  understand  that  I 
shall  have  a  good  deal  of  leisure  time,  the  greater  part  of  which 
I  mean  to  employ  in  writing  books  for  the  series  projected  by 
the  Board  of  Education,  which,  I  think,  promises  to  be  more 
profitable  than  any  other  line  of  literary  labour.  Still  I  shall 
not  utterly  lay  by  the  story-telling  trade,  and  shall  be  happy 
to  come  before  the  public  through  such  a  medium  as  the 
Mirror.  It  rejoices  me  to  hear  of  its  high  repute,  under  your 
management. 

How  is  our  friend  Mr.  Benjamin? 

Very  truly  yours, 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 

Geo.  P.  Morris. 

The  volumes  of  Sir  Francis  Head,  Bubbles  from  tlie 


Publishing  UndertaKing's  197 

Brunnen,  A  Fagot  of  French  Sticks,  and  A  Journey  Across 
the  Pampas,  made  for  themselves  a  good  repute  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Head's  account  of  Paris  in  the  year 
preceding  the  coup  d'etat  presents  an  admirable  picture 
which  has  value  as  history.  A  volume  entitled  Homes  of 
A merican  Authors  was  put  into  print  in  1 852 .  It  included, 
in  addition  to  views  of  the  houses,  personal,  critical,  and 
biographical  sketches  by  Curtis,  Briggs,  Godwin,  Bryant, 
Mrs.  Kirkland,  and  others.  The  editor's  name  is  not 
given.  This  book  proved  to  be  one  of  the  publishing 
successes.  In  1852,  a  collection  was  made  of  the  works  of 
Thomas  Hood,  a  writer  who  had  always  been  a  favourite 
of  my  father.  The  papers  appear  to  have  been  compiled 
from  the  several  periodicals  in  which  they  had  appeared, 
including,  of  course,  the  serial  issued  under  the  title  of 
Hood's  Own. 

It  was  the  case  with  Hood,  as  some  years  later  with  De 
Quincey,  that  the  first  complete  edition  of  his  writings 
was  issued  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

John  P.  Kennedy,  of  Maryland,  who  in  1845  had  been 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  published  between  1851  and  1853 
two  stories,  Horse-Shoe  Robinson  and  Swallow  Barn,  which 
were  faithful  and  artistic  stories  of  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land in  the  earlier  years  of  the  Republic.  Frederick  Law 
Olmsted,  who  was  a  cousin  of  my  mother's,  published  in 
1 85 1,  Walks  and  Talks  of  an  American  Farmer  in  England. 
Mr.  Olmsted,  who  became  later  one  of  the  successful  land- 
scape gardeners  of  the  country,  had  had  some  training  as 
a  scientific  agriculturist.  His  observations  in  England 
were  largely  devoted  to  farming  conditions  and  possibili- 
ties. The  book  reached  a  sixth  edition  and  attracted  a 
full  measure  of  attention  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
The  author  was  clear-sighted  enough  to  point  out  how 
serious  the  competition  of  American  wheat  was  going  to 
prove  to  the  earnings  of  the  English  farmer  and  to  the 


198  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

income  of  the  English  rural  landlord.  In  later  years, 
Olmsted  made  two  journeys  through  the  Southern  States, 
and  published  two  books,  under  the  titles  of  A  Journey 
through  the  Seaboard  Slave  States  and  A  Journey  to  Texas. 
These  books  were  interesting  as  narratives,  but  had  special 
value  as  trustworthy  pictures  of  economic  conditions  in 
the  South  in  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  Civil 
War — conditions  which,  as  the  author  pointed  out,  ren- 
dered probable,  if  not  necessary,  something  in  the  shape 
of  a  radical  change  or  revolution.  They  have  been  com- 
pared to  Arthur  Young's  Studies  of  Rural  France  in  1787- 
8q.  The  increased  demand  for  authoritative  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  the  social  history  of  the  country  gave 
warrant  for  bringing  these  books  again  into  print  half  a 
century  later. 

The  following  letter  from  Irving's  London  publisher 
gives  indication  of  the  increasing  difficulties  in  protecting 
the  authorised  editions  of  American  books : 

London,  August  9,  1850. 
From  Robt.  Cooke, 

(Partner  of  John  Murray.) 
My  dear  Sir: 

I  have  written  by  the  post  to  Mr.  Washington  Irving,  and 
to  make  sure  of  his  receiving  the  packet  without  delay  I  have 
addressed  it  to  your  care. 

I  need  scarcely  tell  you  it  is  on  the  subject  of  protecting  his 
and  our  copyright  of  his  works  in  this  country,  and  I  do  hope 
and  trust  you  will  be  enabled  to  assist  us  in  our  great  want, 
namely,  the  correct  dates  of  publication  in  America  of  the 
early  works  of  Mr.  Irving,  and  to  put  both  in  some  way  as 
good  evidence. 

Our  only  hope  is  this,  and  I  really  believe  if  we  obtain  these 
facts  we  are  likely  to  maintain  our  rights  and  give  to  American 
authors  in  general  a  protection  here,  provided  we  can  prove 
priority  of  publication. 

I  regret  to  say  Mr.  Bohn  was  enabled  to  obtain  from  Mr. 


Publishing  UndertaKing's  199 

Delf  an  affidavit  (a  copy  of  which  I  enclose)  which  perfectly- 
astonished  me  and  took  me  by  surprise.  This  is  a  dig  from 
what  we  supposed  a  friendly  quarter,  as  we  hardly  supposed 
your  agent  would  directly  or  indirectly  sell  a  copy  of  Irving's 
Works.  It  was  done  without  our  knowledge,  and  on  speaking 
to  Mr.  Delf  he  was  obliged  to  confess  you  declined  to  sup- 
ply him;  so  he  got  them  through  a  friend  in  New  York  for 
himself ! 

Is  it  true  that  you  have  exported  copies  of  Irving's  Works 
to  Chapman  or  to  Bohn,  as  both  make  affidavits?  I  wish 
you  would  give  me  the  positive  dates  of  publication  of  each  of 
the  volumes  of  Irving's  new  editions  of  his  Works.  The  dates 
of  Mr.  Melville's  Works  came  most  opportunely  and  were 
much  to  the  purpose,  but  that  case  is  thrown  over  as  well  as 
Mr.  Irving's  till  November,  when  they  are  to  be  tried  in  a 
Court  of  Law. 

We  shall  be  most  anxious  to  hear  from  Mr.  Irving  and  your- 
self, as  everything  depends  on  the  evidence  we  can  produce  as 
to  publication  in  America.  I  have  enclosed  to  Mr.  Irving 
the  dates  of  our  publication,  and  we  feel  sure  that  a  good 
month  must  have  elapsed  before  the  works  appeared  in  the 
United  States.  Are  Mr.  Irving's  former  publishers  Carey, 
Lea  &  Blanchard? 

With  kind  compliments, 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir, 

Faithfully  yours, 

Robert  Cooke. 

The  home  at  Stapleton,  Staten  Island,  was  retained 
until  the  close  of  185 1.  In  the  summer  of  this  year  my 
father  made  a  journey  to  England,  and  (I  believe  because 
my  health  was  unsatisfactory)  decided  to  take  with  him 
myself,  at  that  time  seven  years  old.  I  doubt  whether 
I  secured,  or  whether  any  child  of  that  age  can  secure, 
any  such  service  from  travel  experience  as  repays  the 
trouble  and  expense  to  the  parent.  1851  was  the  year  of 
the  World's  Exhibition  in  London,  the  first  international 


200  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

undertaking  of  the  kind.  The  plan  of  such  an  interna- 
tional exhibit  of  the  productions  of  the  great  states  of  the 
world,  and  of  bringing  together  in  fraternal  intercourse  ex- 
hibitors and  visitors  from  these  states,  had  originated  with 
Prince  Albert,  and  was  one  of  the  many  noteworthy  ideas 
contributed  by  the  Queen's  husband  to  the  civilisation  of 
the  century.  In  one  of  the  earlier  statements  of  the  plan 
of  the  Exhibition  the  Prince  emphasised  the  view,  repeated 
later  in  his  opening  address,  with  a  beautiful  combination 
of  common  sense  and  public  spirit,  that  friendly  indus- 
trial competition  would  be  one  of  the  first  means  of  securing 
the  peace  of  the  world.  The  Prince  took  strong  ground, 
in  opposition  to  the  still  general  belief  that  nations  were 
natural  antagonists  and  that  their  rights  and  interests 
could  be  preserved  only  by  frequent  wars  and  preparations 
for  wars,  but  his  arguments  were  also  aimed  at  the  theories 
in  regard  to  protective  tariffs  which  still  control  the  policy 
of  nearly  all  the  states  of  the  world.  If  it  were  the  case, 
as  the  protectionists  were  disposed  to  maintain,  that  one 
nation  could  increase  in  prosperity  only  at  the  expense  of 
its  neighbours  and  competitors,  and  that  all  purchases 
made  from  territory  outside  the  national  boundaries  must, 
of  necessity,  weaken  the  resources  and  tend  to  lessen  the 
prosperity  of  the  home  state,  then  the  walls  put  up  by 
protective  tariffs  to  hamper  interstate  transactions  were 
essential  to  the  maintenance  of  the  industrial  interests, 
if  not  to  the  very  existence,  of  the  state  itself.  The  larger 
the  proportion  of  the  goods  used  that  could  be  secured 
from  home  production  and  the  smaller  the  proportion  im- 
ported from  without,  the  greater  the  welfare  of  the  indi- 
vidual citizens  and  the  more  assured  the  wealth  and 
prosperity  of  the  state.  Acting  on  this  policy,  the  states 
of  Europe  had  put  into  force  a  long  series  of  complicated 
enactments  having  for  their  purpose  the  hampering  of 
foreign  trade,  the  lessening  of  the  amount  of  foreign  goods 


TKe  Exhibition  of  1851  201 

brought  into  their  respective  home  territories,  and  the 
building  up  of  home  industries  which  should  produce  as 
largely  as  possible  all  articles  required  for  home  consump- 
tion.    The  United  States,  while  in  1851  far  behind  the 
extreme  application  of  these  protectionist  theories  which 
have  later  been  developed  under  such  statesman  as  Mc- 
Kinley  and  Dingley,  had  still  accepted  in  substance  the 
protectionist  theories  of  Europe  (and  of  China) .     England 
alone  was  making  the  attempt  to  convert,  first  English- 
men, and  then  the  citizens  of  the  world,  to  the  opposite 
view.     English  free-traders,  headed  by  Cobden,  Bright, 
Prince  Albert,  and  others,  insisted  that  for  communities  as 
for  individuals,  trade  would  be  carried  on  only  if  found 
profitable  for  both  parties.     If  it  were  the  case  that,  in 
a  normal  business  condition,  individual   merchants  ex- 
changing goods  secure  advantages  both  ways,  it  could 
fairly  be  assumed  that  the  same  merchants  carrying  on 
interstate  business  would  watch  over  their  own  interests 
with  equal  care  in  making  international  exchanges.     The 
wealth  of  the  individual  merchants  constitutes  in  the 
aggregate  the  wealth  of  the  state.     Interferences  with 
international  exchanges,  increasing  the  difficulty  and  the 
cost  of  the  business  transactions,  increase  proportionately 
the  cost  to  the  consumer  of  the  articles  secured.     If  the 
barriers  were  sufficiently  effective  to  prevent  altogether 
the  bringing  in  from  foreign  states  of  any  specific  group 
of  articles,  this  result  could  be  arrived  at  only  by  bringing 
upon  the  consumer  the  necessity  for  making  larger  pay- 
ments for  similar  articles  produced  at  home.     With  this 
class  of  producers,  whose  wares  could  not  compete  success- 
fully, without  such  governmental  aid,  with  the  productions 
from  abroad?the  government  practically  went  into  partner- 
ship,  with  the  exceptional  condition  for  a  partnership, 
that,  when  the  importations  were  stopped  entirely  by  the 
high  tariff,  the  entire  profits  of  the  association  went  to  the 


202  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

home  producers,  leaving  nothing  to  the  Treasury,  while 
the  additional  cost  brought  about  by  such  an  arrangement 
was  borne  by  the  consumer  or  the  taxpayer. 

To  Prince  Albert  and  to  other  Englishmen  in  the  group 
to  which  he  belonged,  a  policy  of  this  kind  seemed  as 
mediaeval,  as  unreasonable,  and  as  unjust  as  was  the  system 
under  which,  during  certain  periods  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
the  robber  barons  of  the  Rhine  had  been  permitted  to  con- 
trol trade  in  their  own  way  along  the  banks  of  the  river. 
It  was  not  one  of  the  least  of  the  motives  which  influenced 
the  Prince  and  his  associates  to  put  into  effect  the  scheme 
of  the  first  World's  Fair  that,  in  bringing  men  together 
with  their  wares,  and  in  enabling  the  producers  and  the 
consumers  of  each  state  to  make  an  actual  comparison  of 
their  relative  advantages  for  production,  a  wider  and  wiser 
understanding  would  be  arrived  at  of  international  busi- 
ness conditions.  Unprofitable  production  would  no  longer 
be  sustained  by  the  authority  of  the  government  and  at 
the  expense  of  the  taxpayer.  Unnecessary  restrictions 
which  had  been  hampering  trade  relations  would  be  re- 
moved. With  larger  trade  intercourse,  and  with  the 
removal  of  burdensome  taxes,  the  consumers  would  secure 
better  goods  at  lower  prices,  while  the  producers  could  be 
assured  of  larger  returns  from  the  more  extended  markets. 

It  was  also  the  natural  expectation  that  there  would  be 
a  direct  gain  in  the  transmission  from  one  country  into 
another  of  industrial  arts  which  had  been  perfected  in  one 
country  and  which  were  comparatively  unknown  in  the 
others.  During  this  period,  England  was  very  much 
behind  France,  Italy,  and  the  Low  Countries  in  regard  to 
the  application  of  the  arts  to  industries.  Its  manufactur- 
ing methods,  while  successful  in  machinery  and  in  me- 
chanics, were  curiously  clumsy  in  regard  to  the  production 
of  goods  that  ought  to  have  been  artistic,  but  which  as 
they  came  from  English  workshops  were  aggravatingly 


THe  ExKibition  of  1851  203 

ugly  and  ineffective.  The  development  of  an  artistic 
sense  for  furniture,  for  dress,  for  buildings,  and  for  general 
environment  in  England,  may  be  said  to  date  from  the 
Exhibition  of  1 85 1.  A  further  important  influence  in  the 
minds  of  the  promoters  of  the  Exhibition  was  the  belief 
that  it  would  herald  the  abolition  of  war.  One  of  the 
most  assured  of  the  prophecies  outlined  in  the  address  of 
Prince  Albert,  and  repeated  in  much  of  the  contemporary 
literature  of  the  year,  was  that  relating  to  the  reduction 
of  armies  and  fleets  and  to  the  expectation  that  inter- 
national difficulties  were  thereafter  to  be  adjusted  by  ar- 
bitration. It  is  my  memory  that  this  first  World's  Fair 
gave  no  space  whatever  to  implements  of  warfare.  Its 
purpose  was  to  emphasise  the  industrial  and  the  artistic 
activities,  and,  as  stated,  to  further  the  commercial  rela- 
tions of  Europe.  This  portion  of  Prince  Albert's  scheme 
has,  unfortunately,  been  shown  by  the  history  of  the 
later  years  to  have  been  founded  on  a  very  optimistic 
conception  of  the  nature  of  mankind.  The  belief  that 
men  would  certainly  do  what  was  to  their  own  interest, 
a  belief  which  forms  the  basis  of  much  of  the  teachings  of 
the  economists  of  the  school  of  Mill,  was  shown  to  have 
rested  on  an  inadequate  foundation.  The  half-century 
which  passed  after  the  building  of  Prince  Albert's  Crys- 
tal Palace  witnessed  a  larger  number  of  wars,  if  not  a 
larger  amount  of  actual  fighting,  than  had  troubled  the 
world  for  any  previous  similar  term  since  the  close  of  the 
Thirty  Years'  War  in  1648. 

The  question,  however,  of  the  wide  results  of  this  first 
of  the  World's  Exhibitions  or  of  the  wisdom  of  Prince 
Albert  as  opposed  to  that  of  Henry  C.  Carey,  naturally 
caused  very  little  concern  to  the  small  boy  who  was  mak- 
ing this  journey.  My  father,  with  a  much  better  know- 
ledge of  English  and  European  conditions  than  was 
possessed  by  other  Americans  of  his  age  who  had  not 


204  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

sojourned  on  the  other  side,  did  have  a  very  keen  interest 
in  these  theories  and  prophecies,  and,  being  himself  an  op- 
timist by  temperament,  he  was  disposed  at  the  time  (as 
he  told  me  later)  to  believe  that  a  new  era  of  peace  and 
international  prosperity  had  really  been  inaugurated. 

We  sailed  for  Liverpool  on  the  side-wheel  steamer 
Franklin.  She  belonged  to  the  first  of  the  steamship  lines 
controlled  by  American  capital  and  flying  the  American 
flag.  The  line  included,  in  addition  to  the  Franklin,  the 
Washington,  the  Humboldt,  and  the  Hermann.  The  owner- 
ship of  the  line  was  partly  German,  and  the  trips  were 
later  made  to  Havre,  Southampton,  and  Bremen.  It  is 
my  impression  that  the  first  cabin  of  the  Franklin  had 
staterooms  for  from  fifty  to  sixty  passengers.  The  dining- 
table  was  somewhat  similar  in  aspect  to  that  of  the  old-time 
sailing  packets.  The  captain  acted  as  host,  and  there  was 
a  personal  association  between  him  and  his  guests  and  bet- 
ween the  guests  themselves  such  as  is,  of  course,  impossible 
under  the  conditions  controlling  steamship  life  to-day. 
The  trip  in  our  case  occupied  seventeen  days ;  the  journeys 
averaged  from  twelve  to  twenty  days,  varying  consider- 
ably according  to  the  wind,  the  steamers  depending  very 
largely  on  the  auxiliary  power  of  their  sails. 

London  was,  of  course,  very  full,  but  my  father,  with 
his  old-time  friendly  relations,  d'd  not  need  to  depend  upon 
hotel  accommodation.  It  is  difficult  to  say  how  far  I 
have  recalled  from  my  memory  the  aspect  of  London  at 
the  time  or  how  far  the  pictures  in  my  memory  came  to  me 
through  later  descriptions.  The  Crystal  Palace  was  one 
of  the  artistic  wonders  of  the  day  and  made  a  most  note- 
worthy precedent  in  the  use  for  great  buildings  of  glass 
and  iron,  which  had  heretofore  been  considered  available 
for  nothing  larger  than  a  conservatory.  The  palace  con- 
stituted, in  fact,  an  extension  of  the  conservatory  idea, 
and  its  designer,  Joseph  Paxton  (afterwards  Sir  Joseph 


The  Exhibition  of  1851  205 

Paxton)  had  been  himself  a  builder  of  conservatories  and 
of  nothing  else.  It  was  Paxton 's  happy  thought,  of  re- 
placing the  brick  and  mortar  upon  the  use  of  which  the 
plans  of  the  other  designers  had  been  formed,  that  caught 
Prince  Albert's  attention.  The  use  of  the  glass  enabled 
the  space  in  Hyde  Park  to  be  covered  without  destroying 
the  trees.  These  trees,  some  of  them  of  great  age,  were 
gathered  in  under  the  central  dome  and  the  outlying 
extensions,  and  when  the  work  of  the  exhibition  was  com- 
pleted the  trees  were  restored  to  the  open  air  without 
injury. 

While  the  larger  hopes  that  had  been  associated  with 
the  Exhibition  met  with  disappointment,  the  immediate 
advantages  to  England  and  to  Europe  were  very  im- 
portant. The  merchants  who  had  before  been  doubtful 
of  the  returns  to  themselves  from  the  expense  of  prepar- 
ing exhibits,  found  these  returns  so  important  that  they 
have  been  prepared  from  decade  to  decade  since  to  give 
a  substantial  support  to  similar  schemes.  The  series  of 
World's  Exhibitions  since  1851  has  been  noteworthy  and 
influential  in  many  ways. 

My  father's  special  business  in  London  during  this  year 
was  the  confirming  of  his  old-time  relations  with  the  many 
publishers  and  the  emphasising  for  certain  British  authors 
of  the  effectiveness  of  his  own  publishing  machinery  for 
reaching  the  increasingly  important  market  of  the  United 
States.  We  returned,  I  think,  in  September.  The  busi- 
ness results  of  the  journey  were  indicated  in  a  number 
of  the  more  important  publishing  undertakings  for  the 
succeeding  year. 

I  add  here  a  report  of  certain  phases  of  the  Exhibition, 
which  was  printed  by  my  father  in  the  Evening  Post. 

world's  fair  notes. 

July,  1851. 

Perhaps  it  is  profitless  to  prose  any  further  about  the 


2o6  George  Palmer  Putnam 

mistakes  and  omissions  connected  with  the  American  portion 
of  the  "Great  Exhibition";  and  as  one  of  the  visitors,  I  must 
admit  myself  wholly  incompetent  to  compare,  intelligently 
and  impartially,  the  articles  in  which  we  might  have  claimed 
to  excel,  with  those  of  other  nations.  Speaking  as  a  novice 
in  almost  every  branch  of  manufacture  except  my  own  spe- 
cialty— and  not  too  well  posted  even  in  that — I  cannot  help 
imagining  that  our  people  have  jumped  somewhat  too  hastily 
to  the  conclusion  that  they  can  do  everything  a  great  deal 
better  than  the  rest  of  the  world.  If  there  are  those  who  don't 
boast  quite  so  far  as  this,  they  at  least  cling  tenaciously  to  the 
general  belief  that  American  progress  in  everything  is  so  ener- 
getic, active,  and  actually  successful,  that  if  it  has  not,  in  every 
branch,  really  headed  off  the  Europeans,  it  has  come  so  near 
it  that  we  need  not  trouble  ourselves  as  to  the  result.  Perhaps 
this  is  all  right — perhaps  in  some  instances  it  is  true — but 
yet  a  careful,  sober  look  at  the  actual  demonstration  of  Euro- 
pean progress,  as  shown  at  the  Great  Fair,  forces  one  to  admit, 
even  against  his  will,  that  we  have  a  vast  deal  yet  to  learn; 
that  we  have  boasted  almost  as  much  as  we  have  performed ; 
that  we  have  been,  nationally  speaking,  too  well  contented 
with  the  go-ahead-any-way-will-do  system;  and,  in  short,  that 
it  is  more  than  questionable  whether  Europe,  and  especially 
England,  has  not,  in  a  large  proportion  of  all  important  and 
useful  arts,  actually  travelled  faster  during  the  last  ten  years 
than  the  great  American  Republic  itself. 

I  am  too  well  aware  how  heretical  and  unpatriotic  such 
admissions  are  deemed  by  our  oratorical  patriots.  It  is  the 
fashion  to  laud  "our  country,  right  or  wrong,"  and  to  deny 
that  she  even  can  be  in  the  wrong  or  in  the  rear  of  the  perse- 
cuted people  of  other  nations.  It  is,  perhaps,  worse  than  a 
thankless  task  to  venture  a  hint  or  two  on  the  other  side  of 
this  question.  But  when  one  sees  what  Europe  is  doing,  even 
in  spite  of  heavy  national  debts,  heavier  taxation,  and  all  the 
drawbacks  of  expensive  governments,  one  may  be  constrained 
to  say  with  Knickerbocker's  smoking  sages,  "I  have  my 
doubts."  This  is  understood  to  be  a  free  country,  so  I  will 
speak  freely,  if  you,  Messrs.  Editors,  think  it  worth  while  to 


The  Exhibition  of  1851  207 

let  a  modest  and  unimportant  item  like  myself  have  his  "say" 
in  your  paper. 

I  intruded  one  letter  before  (July  15),  commenting  upon  the 
Great  Exhibition  and  the  American  failure  therein.  That  it 
is  a  failure,  most  palpably  and  unequivocally,  is  generally  ad- 
mitted, and  that  it  is  so  from  no  fault  or  omission  on  the  part 
of  the  English  commissioners  is,  also,  I  presume  undoubted. 
The  simple  fact  of  failure  to  produce  an  extensive  and  com- 
manding show  may  be  excused,  or  at  least  accounted  for,  in 
a  variety  of  ways,  as  before  hinted ;  but  the  worst  part  about  it 
— (and  I  appeal  to  any  intelligent  American  who  has  seen 
the  exhibition  to  contradict  me,  if  I  misrepresent) — the  worst 
part  of  it  is  the  evident  ambitiousness  of  the  display,  united 
with  the  comparative  meagreness  and  meanness  of  the  ar- 
rangements, and  the  vulgarity  and  bad  taste  of  the  signs  and 
wonders  placed  above  the  whole ;  all  this  must  be  vexatious  and 
mortifying  to  any  American  of  ordinary  judgment  and  taste — 
more  so  than  can  be  imagined  at  this  distance.  But  it  is  done, 
let  it  pass;  unless,  peradventure,  the  commissioner  will  even 
now  repent  of  his  sins  against  propriety. 

"Give  the  devil  his  due,"  says  the  old  maxim.  Why 
should  we  not  do  the  same  to  our  crusty  old  kinsman,  Mr. 
Bull? 

Seriously,  my  dear  Mr.  Editors,  is  it  wise  and  judicious  for 
us,  as  a  people,  to  feed  our  vanity  so  greedily  on  bombast? 
Has  n't  our  eagle  soared  so  high  that  his  eyes  are  a  little  blinded 
by  the  sun,  or  by  his  lofty  position  itself?  Is  it  in  the  best 
taste  for  our  statesmen  and  generals  to  be  so  often  on  stilts, 
looking  down  with  pity  upon  the  "down-trodden,"  miserable 
people  of  Europe,  and  pharisaically  congratulating  ourselves 
that  we  are  not  as  other  people? 

Do  you  infer  from  these  daring  queries  that  the  querist  has 
been  converted  to  despotism,  and  has  been  so  dazzled  by 
European  splendours  that  he  is  blind  alike  to  our  great  ad- 
vantages, and  to  the  real  misery  of  the  large  masses  abroad? 
If  so,  your  inference  is  erroneous.  What  I  aim  at  is,  simply  to 
suggest,  to  insinuate,  as  gently  as  our  sensitive  democracy 
will  permit,  that  there  is  much  even  in  the  most  despotic 


208  George   Palmer  Pvitnam 

country  in  Europe  which  we  might  advantageously  copy; 
that  in  the  more  liberal  nations,  such  as  mother  England, 
there  is  a  vast  deal  more  that  we  might  envy;  that  England 
has  far  more  of  freedom  than  we  are  usually  taught  to  believe; 
and  that  we  are  sadly,  vexatiously,  and  almost  inexcusably 
behind  her  in  many  essential  particulars  bearing  upon  domestic 
comfort,  municipal  regulations,  and  protection  to  individual 
rights.  How  long  would  "short  boys"  and  such  like  rowdies 
be  tolerated  in  London?  Shall  they  be  necessary  appendages 
to  a  republic? 

Truly  yours, 

G.  P.  P. 

It  was  during  this  journey  that  the  plan  of  Putnam's 
Monthly  was  first  thought  over,  although  the  carrying  out 
of  this  scheme  was  delayed  for  another  twelve  months. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year,  my  father  felt  sufficiently 
hopeful  about  his  business  future  to  plan  for  a  material 
change  in  the  arrangements  of  his  home.  With  his  in- 
creasing literary  and  social  responsibilities  in  New  York, 
he  had  long  found  it  an  inconvenience  to  be  domiciled  at 
Staten  Island.  In  the  winter  time  the  intercourse  between 
the  island  and  the  city  was  not  infrequently  interrupted 
by  ice,  and  whenever  my  father  had  been  detained  at  the 
office  a  little  later  than  usual,  or  was  held  in  town  for  an 
evening  engagement,  my  mother  had  the  question  before 
her  as  to  whether  he  really  was  to  pass  the  night  with  a 
friend  in  the  city  or  whether  the  not  very  trustworthy 
ferry-boat  was  drifting  down  the  bay  with  her  paddles 
clogged  with  ice. 

The  new  home  was  fixed  in  East  16th  Street,  at  number 
92,  opposite  St.  George's  Church  and  almost  immediately 
adjoining  Stuyvesant  Square. 

The  house  in  16th  Street  soon  became  the  centre  of 
hospitality  which,  from  the  frequent  return  of  the  same 
guests,  appears  to  have  been  none  the  less    attractive 


Literary  Associates  209 

because  it  was  always  modest.  In  the  course  of  1852, 
there  was  instituted  a  series  of  evening  receptions,  which 
were  held  onTuesdays  with  "  no  formality  and  no  suppers." 
To  these  receptions  came  some  of  the  best  people  in  New 
York,  using  "best"  in  the  sense  in  which  it  would  be 
interpreted  in  literary  circles  rather  than  among  those 
who  constituted  the  "four  hundred"  of  the  period.  Mr. 
Bryant  was  one  of  the  most  regular  attendants,  and  for 
the  twenty  years  succeeding  this  time  Bryant  might  very 
well  have  been  accepted  as  the  leader  of  the  best  of  New 
York  society.  Curtis  was  a  frequent  and  a  welcome  guest, 
and  brought  with  him  from  time  to  time  New  England 
friends  or  kinsmen.  Dr.  Hawks  was  naturally  a  frequent 
visitor,  to  look  after  his  parishioner  and  to  represent  the 
scholarship  of  New  York.  Parke  Godwin,  who  married 
the  oldest  daughter  of  Bryant,  and  who  was  understood 
to  represent  the  political  opinions  of  Putnam's  Monthly, 
came  from  time  to  time,  although  in  those  earlier  years 
it  is  my  impression  that  Godwin  posed  as  one  who  shunned 
society.  Other  names  to  be  recalled  are  those  of  Frederick 
Law  Olmsted,  who  was  a  cousin  of  my  mother's,  and  who, 
before  attaining  fame  as  a  landscape  gardener,  was  known 
as  a  clever  agriculturist,  traveller,  and  writer;  Downing, 
from  whom  Olmsted  received  some  of  his  first  encourage- 
ment towards  making  landscape  gardening  a  profession; 
Bayard  Taylor,  in  the  intervals  of  his  series  of  travels ; 
Mrs.  Kirkland,  Henry  T.  Tuckerman,  Miss  Wormeley,  Dr. 
Spencer,  author  of  a  clever  book  of  travels  on  the  East; 
John  P.  Kennedy,  who  occasionally  found  time  to  make 
the  journey  from  Baltimore  or  from  Washington ;  Profes- 
sor Gray  from  Cambridge,  Professor  Silliman  from  New 
Haven,  Dr.  W.  S.  Mayo,  author  of  Kaloolah;  Fenimore 
Cooper,  Richard  B.  Kimball,  George  Ripley,  Miss  Lynch, 
afterwards  Mrs.  Botta ;  Mr.  Irving,  though  rarely.  Irving 
very  much  preferred  a  talk  with  one  or  two  people  to  what 


210  George  Palmer  Pxitnam 

he  called  a  social  function.  There  was  also  a  representa- 
tion from  Columbia  College,  including  Dr.  Anthon, 
Professor  Hackley,  etc.  Susan  Warner  and  her  sister 
Anna  occasionally  came  to  town  from  West  Point,  and 
when  the  elder  sister  was  in  the  room  there  was  no  diffi- 
culty in  identifying  her  presence,  as  she  was  an  inch  or 
two  taller  than  any  other  lady  present.  George  H.  Calvert 
occasionally  made  the  journey  from  Newport,  and  Cathe- 
rine Sedgwick  would  bring  to  town  the  latest  reports 
from  Berkshire  County. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  history  of 
Eleazar  Williams,  who  believed  himself  to  be  the  lost 
prince,  Louis  XVII.,  and  whose  belief  was  at  the  time 
accepted  by  a  number  of  good  authorities.  During  the 
winter  of  the  visit  of  Mr.  Williams  to  New  York,  he  and 
his  friend  Dr.  Hanson,  who  took  charge  of  the  literary 
presentation  of  his  case,  were  frequent  guests  at  the  Tues- 
day receptions,  and  the  possibility  that  Louis  XVII.  was 
in  the  room  naturally  attracted  a  full  share  of  attention. 
On  one  occasion,  at  least,  the  16th  Street  house  received 
Thackeray,  of  whose  tall  figure,  big  snub  nose,  and  round 
spectacles,  I  retain  a  vivid  impression. 

My  father  possessed  eminently  the  social  faculty.  WTith 
no  knowledge  that  was  thorough  enough  to  be  called  that 
of  a  scholar,  he  possessed  a  very  wide  range  of  information, 
was  well  read,  particularly  in  history  and  biography,  and 
had  kept  himself  in  touch  with  the  events  of  modern 
times  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  He  had  the  interest 
of  an  intelligent  citizen  in  all  that  concerned  the  welfare 
of  his  own  country,  while  he  was  much  better  informed  as 
to  conditions  in  England  and  in  Europe  than  was  general 
with  Americans  of  his  generation,  to  whom  Europe  was 
not  as  near  as  it  has  since  become.  He  also  had  a  keen 
personal  sympathy  with  the  men  and  women  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact,  and  was  always  ready  to  interest 


Irving's  Worhs  211 

himself  intelligently  both  in  them  and  in  their  work. 
With  his  social  faculty,  it  was  a  pleasure  with  him  to  bring 
people  together  who  might  not  otherwise  have  met,  and, 
with  a  certain  sweetness  of  nature  that  made  it  impossible 
for  him  to  attribute  bad  motives  to  anybody  else,  he  was 
often  able  to  cause  people  who  had  issues  of  one  kind  or 
another  to  forget  their  differences  in  his  presence.  In 
later  times,  when  I  was  better  able  to  understand  the 
difficulty  of  inducing  certain  types  of  men  to  work  in  har- 
mony, types  which  include  not  a  few  public-spirited  citi- 
zens who  really  want  to  serve  the  community,  I  learned 
to  appreciate  the  value  of  this  faculty  of  my  father's. 
He  made,  therefore,  an  excellent  host,  and  my  mother, 
whose  range  of  interests  was  smaller,  and  who  found  it 
more  difficult  to  sympathise  with  people  of  whom  she 
was  not  fond,  had  also  herself  a  social  grace  and  attrac- 
tiveness of  manner  which  made  her  a  successful  hostess. 
For  many  years  after  1 6th  Street  had  ceased  to  be  a  home 
for  us,  I  heard  these  receptions  referred  to  as  an  example 
of  what  could  be  done  with  New  York  society  with  a  little 
intelligent  effort.  During  these  years,  Curtis,  who  had 
himself  a  very  high  standard  as  to  what  society  ought  to 
be,  was  describing  in  his  Potiphar  Papers  the  efforts  of 
the  "four  hundred"  of  the  time  to  find  amusement  for 
themselves  in  a  very  different  fashion. 

The  following  letter  from  Irving's  publisher  speaks  none 
too  strongly  concerning  certain  piratical  appropriations 
of  Irving's  works,  appropriations  which,  in  one  form  or 
other,  continued  through  a  long  series  of  years. 

irving's  earlier  works 

To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  "Times:" 

A  paragraph  copied  in  the  Times  from  a  letter  in  the  Boston 
Post  makes  a  statement  in  regard  to  some  unknown  person's 


212  George  Palmer  Putnam 

intention  to  "  do  a  little  freebooting"  on  some  volumes  of 
Irving's  earlier  works.  To  call  this  proposed  proceeding 
"privateering,"  as  the  writer  does  elsewhere,  is  perhaps 
scarcely  correct,  if  privateering  means  licensed  and  authorised 
warfare  on  an  enemy's  property.  This  "intention"  does  not 
appear  to  have  any  such  warrant.  No  enmity  or  open  war- 
fare is  pretended — no  reprisals  for  damage  done  or  public  or 
personal  injury  sustained — but  simple,  plain,  open,  or  rather 
secret  "freebooting";  for  the  "enterprising"  and  "adventur- 
ous freebooter"  is  apparently  so  doubtful  of  the  character  of 
his  proposed  "raid"  on  the  private  interests  and  property  of 
two  families  (no  member  of  which  I  am  quite  sure  has  ever 
done  him  an  injury,  whoever  he  is),  that  he  hesitates  to  give 
his  own  name,  but  suggests  the  "ventilation"  of  his  free  and 
easy  project  through  an  anonymous  correspondent  of  a  journal 
in  another  city. 

The  legal,  moral,  commercial,  or  other  aspects  of  the  pro- 
posed invasion — or  whatever  it  may  be  properly  designated — 
need  not  be  discussed  at  present.  It  is  just  possible  that 
though  the  "freebooter"  may  have  power  to  inflict  some 
damage  on  me  and  those  dependent  upon  me,  as  welt  as  on  the 
large  family  circle  of  the  author  in  question,  he  may  find  it 
will  prove  of  less  benefit  to  himself  than  he  now  supposes. 
I  would  merely  beg  leave  at  present  to  state  that  I  am  still 
the  publisher  of  all  of  Irving's  works;  that  my  contract  for 
these,  to  pay  the  full  copyright  on  all  of  them,  has  just  been 
renewed  for  five  years;  that  there  are  no  "new  publishers" 
to  be  attacked,  for  my  interest  in  the  books  is  the  same  as 
ever;  that  the  present  editions  of  the  works  contain  a  large 
amount  of  new  matter  which  the  "freebooter"  might  find  it 
unpleasant  to  steal;  and  that  the  attempt  to  reprint  the  in- 
complete and  unrevised  edition  of  the  two  or  three  volumes 
which,  in  these  imperfect  editions,  have  ceased  to  be  protected, 
is  a  gross  injustice  to  the  repute  of  the  author,  as  well  as  an 
unjustifiable  raid  on  the  private  interests  and  means  of  his 
family.  This,  at  least,  is  my  honest  impression,  albeit  a 
selfish  view  of  the  case. 

Even  if  there  were  no  copyright,  if  the  books  were  foreign, 


Irving's  "WorKs  213 

but  had  been  reprinted  for  a  long  series  of  years  in  every 
variety  of  form  which  the  public  demanded,  the  investment 
in  time  and  money  in  the  mere  manufacture  would  seem  to  be 
entitled  to  some  courtesy,  to  say  the  least.  No  publisher, 
however,  who  claims  any  position  in  the  trade  or  the  com- 
munity worthy  of  true  respect,  would  need  any  argument  on 
this  point. 

I  would  merely  add  that  even  the  excuse  that  the  "raided" 
article  may  be  sold  cheaper  will  not  hold  in  this  case.  Editions 
of  all  these  volumes,  in  the  revised  and  complete  form,  are 
either  ready  or  in  active  progress  to  be  sold  at  the  minimum 
rates  of  non-copyright  books. 

Yours  respectfully, 

G.  P.  Putnam. 

January,  1852. 

IRVING' S    EARLIER  WRITINGS 

To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  "Times:" 

Mr.  Putnam's  remarks  on  the  impropriety  of  republishing 
Irving's  works  in  their  unrevised  form  have  but  one  fault: 
they  are  not  strong  enough.  Perhaps  he  feared  to  be  sus- 
pected of  exaggeration.  Few  readers  appreciate  the  extent 
of  the  changes  made  in  the  revised  edition,  as  they  can  only 
be  fully  detected  by  minute  comparison.  Take  Knicker- 
bocker, for  instance.  Having  recently  had  occasion  to  collate 
carefully  several  chapters  of  the  two  versions,  I  found  that, 
what  with  additions,  omissions,  transpositions,  and  alterations, 
one-fifth  of  the  original  had  been  entirely  recast.  There  was 
not  merely  the  "new  matter"  to  which  Mr.  Putnam  alludes, 
such  as  the  chapters  about  Rensselaerwick  and  the  exquisite 
episode  of  Ten  Broeck's  Land  Measurement,  but  page  after 
page  of  the  old  matter  was  most  carefully  rewritten.  The  one 
defect  of  Irving's  beautiful  style — an  occasional  diffuseness — 
had  been  rigorously  toned  down,  sentences  compressed,  and 
epithets  altered — often  most  felicitously.  Thus,  "that  potent 
and  blustering  monarch,  the  sovereign  people,"  was  changed 
to  "that  wise  but  windy  potentate," — a  bit  of  alliterative 
humour  not  surpassed  by  Sydney  Smith's   "diameter  and 


214  George  Palmer  Putnam 

decision,"  or  the  saying  so  current  twenty  years  ago  in  Eng- 
land, "Peel  and  Providence." 

To  republish  the  unrevised  editions  of  Irving  would  indeed 
be  most  unfair  to  his  repute  and  to  the  public,  while  it  would 
go  far  to  destroy  the  little  existing  value  those  editions  have, 
namely  to  the  curious  bibliophile. 

Carl  Benson. 

January,  1852. 

I  do  not  identify  Mr.  M.  as  one  of  the  Putnam  authors, 
but  with  a  remembrance  of  not  a  few  similar  cases  later, 
I  think  it  probable  that  he  secured  the  desired  loan. 

"  Tribune  "  Office,  New  York, 

June  4,  1852. 

George  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 
Dear  Sir: 
About  a  year  ago  I  asked  you  for  a  loan  of  $200,  offering 
as  security  for  the  payment  of  the  debt  two  or  three  presenta- 
tion copies  of  books  I  received  from  the  authors,  which  you 
said  you  would  do.  I  now  hand  over  Longfellow,  Emerson, 
and  Mitchell  to  your  safekeeping,  praying  of  you  to  keep 
them  safe  for  me,  as  I  would  not  lose  one  for  $20 ;  I  have  just 
got  a  situation  as  proof-reader  from  Mr.  Greeley  of  the  Tribune 
at  $10  a  week,  but  from  former  difficulties  have  not  been  able 
to  call  the  salary  my  own.  May  I  ask  you  to  loan  me  three 
dollars  until  I  take  them  back? 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  gratefully 

William  P.  M. 

The  following  letter  to  Hawthorne  gives  an  account  of 
the  curious  lack  of  success  of  the  first  of  Hawthorne's 
published  volumes,  the  exquisite  Mosses  from  an  Old 
Manse. 

It  was  only  after  The  Scarlet  Letter  had  secured  for 
itself  a  world-wide  recognition  that  these  earlier  sketches 
came  into  appreciation. 


HawtHorne  215 

New  York,  February  10,  1853. 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  Esq. 

My  dear  Sir: 

Annexed  is  an  account  of  sales  of  the  Mosses  up  to  the  first 
of  January,  and  for  the  balance  due  you  ($144.09)  a  check  is 
enclosed  on  the  American  Exchange  Bank.  It  happens  that  the 
two  last  semi-annual  accounts  were  passed  over  by  our  book- 
keeper simply  because  the  amount  was  small,  and  he  thought 
it  well  to  wait  until  a  somewhat  more  considerable  sum  should 
be  due.  The  present  amount  is  small  enough ;  I  only  wish  it 
were  ten  times  as  much.  I  trust,  however,  you  will  be  assured 
that  we  take  a  pride  in  having  your  name  on  our  list  and  that 
we  shall  continue  to  keep  the  Mosses  in  fresh  remembrance  and 
to  do  all  we  can  to  make  its  publication  more  profitable. 

The  good  fortune  which  fell  to  our  worthy  and  enterprising 
friends  in  Boston  in  being  the  publishers  of  The  Scarlet  Letter, 
and  its  brilliant  success,  was  certainly  something  to  be  envied 
(I  hope  I  am  not  too  envious),  and  it  is  natural  that  the  com- 
paratively moderate  sale  of  the  Mosses  should  make  us  appear 
less  interested  and  less  capable  of  doing  justice  to  the  work. 
But  I  trust  that  you  will  not  consider  this  circumstance  as 
conclusively  against  us.  Your  Boston  publishers  have  cer- 
tainly won  the  best  title  to  your  confidence.  I  could  not 
justly  move  a  step  in  any  interference,  direct  or  indirect, 
with  their  claims.  I  am  chiefly  anxious  to  have  you  believe 
me  not  only  honestly  ambitious  to  secure  your  good- will,  but 
fully  capable  of  doing  justice  to  your  interests  whenever  (if 
ever)  there  may  be  any  suitable  occasion  for  your  publishing 
in  any  way  in  New  York.  I  still  hope,  however  it  may  be 
with  books,  that  you  may  be  willing  to  let  us  publish  your 
next  romance  first  in  our  Magazine,  and  I  will  engage  to  secure 
at  any  rate  these  two  points:  first,  that  you  will  receive  the 
highest  rate  of  payment  promptly  in  cash  from  the  Magazine, 
and,  second,  that  your  American  and  London  copyrights 
shall  both  be  protected  beyond  any  contingency.  By  the 
highest  rate,  I  mean  the  highest  rate  ever  paid  in  this  country 
by  a  magazine.  As  we  publish  simultaneously  in  London,  it 
is  very  easy  to  arrange  for  the  British  copyright.     If  you 


216  George  Palmer  Putnam 

should  prefer  to  give  us  separate  short  tales  we  should  also 
be  quite  ready  to  print  the  same.  The  success  of  our  Maga- 
zine is  now  established.  Of  the  latest  number  we  printed 
22,250,  and  the  demand  increases  from  day  to  day. 

Mr.  Irving,  Mr.  Bryant,  the  author  of  The  Wide,  Wide 
World,  and  other  authors  for  whom  we  publish,  will  tell  you 
that  our  engagements  have  been  large  with  them  and  have 
always  been  promptly  met.  This  year  we  complete  for  Mr. 
Irving  $20,000  for  four  years'  sales,  and  Miss  Warner  received 
from  us  for  six  months'  sales  $4500. 

I  trust  that  you  will  kindly  think  over  these  several  sug- 
gestions and  that  if  any  difficulties  occur  to  you,  you  will  let 
me  know  and  I  will  try  to  remove  them. 

Very  respectfully, 

G.  P.  Putnam. 

Washington,  March  25,  1853. 
Dear  Sir:     I  duly  received  yours  of  the  16th  with  the  list 
of  American  works  published  in  England,  for  which  I  am 
greatly  indebted  to  you. 

It  is  a  very  important  document,  and  when  properly  made 
use  of  will  have  its  effect  on  the  public  mind.  I  do  not  think 
we  shall  be  able  to  take  up  the  Copy-Right  Convention  at 
this  session.  The  Senate  is  greatly  pre-occupied  with  other 
subjects  and  there  is  an  indisposition  to  take  up  business  of 
this  kind.  Great  pains  have  been  taken  by  outsiders  to  pre- 
judice the  Senate  against  the  treaty;  and  not  much  to  counter- 
act these  efforts.  It  is  the  universal  opinion,  as  far  as  I  know, 
of  the  friends  of  the  measure,  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  take 
it  up  this  Spring.  Let  this,  however,  be  entre  nous.  You 
must  get  some  able,  temperate,  and  skilful  friend  of  the  mea- 
sure to  advocate  it  in  a  series  of  articles  in  your  Magazine. 
It  would  be  worth  while  to  have  something  in  each  number 
during  the  recess  of  Congress. 

With  great  regard, 

Faithfully  yours, 

Edward  Everett. 
(At  that  time  Secretary  of  State.) 
George  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 


THe  "Warner  Sisters  217 

In  1853,  Miss  Warner  published  Queechy,  which,  while 
never  attaining  the  success  of  The  Wide,  Wide  World, 
did  secure  a  good  circulation.  Both  books  have  remained 
in  demand  during  the  last  half  of  the  century.  In  the 
same  year  was  printed  over  the  nom  de  plume  of  "Amy 
Lathrop,  Dollars  and  Cents.1'  This  was  an  attempt  made 
by  the  two  sisters  to  produce  a  book  together.  It  had  a  fair 
success,  and,  I  find,  reached  a  fifth  edition  in  1854,  but  it 
did  not  possess  the  literary  quality  of  the  books  written  by 
Susan  alone.  Better  work  was  done  by  the  two  sisters  in 
the  set  of  books  for  children  entitled  "Ellen  Montgomery 
Book- shelf,"  a  series  which  included  Mr.  Rutherford's 
Children,  Karl  Krinken,  etc.  In  1854,  was  published 
Roughing  it  in  the  Bush,  or  Life  in  Canada,  by  Mrs.  Mudie, 
the  wife  of  a  British  officer.  The  book  was  not  merely 
attractive  reading,  but  is  valuable  to-day  as  a  picture  of 
the  frontier  life  of  the  time.  The  World's  Progress  had 
been  revised  with  additional  material  from  five  years  to 
five  years,  and  continued  to  be  accepted  as  possibly  the 
best  American  compilation  of  its  class.  I  find  record  of 
"A  Popular  Library  for  Travellers  and  the  Home  Circle," 
which  is  catalogued  as  comprising  at  that  time  thirty  vol- 
umes. In  1 85 1 ,  Professor  Silliman  had  travelled  in  Europe, 
and  in  the  following  year  brought  out,  in  two  volumes,  the 
record  of  his  trip.  This  reached  by  1853  a  third  edition. 
I  have  looked  at  the  book  since,  and  judge  that  if  it  were 
published  to-day  it  would  not  find  many  hundred  readers. 
The  reading  public  in  the  middle  of  the  century  was. pre- 
pared to  interest  itself  in  travel  narratives  which  at  this 
time  would  be  considered  neither  exciting  nor  informing. 
Miss  Catherine  Sedgwick  published  within  this  term  of 
years  a  group  of  books,  two  of  which  secured  for  themselves 
an  honourable  position  in  the  literature  of  the  time — 
Clarence,  Redwood,  A  New  England  Tale,  Facts  and  Fancies, 
and   Morals   of  Manners.      Miss  Sedgwick    knew  from 


218  George  Palmer  Putnam 

careful  observation  the  New  England  life  of  which  Stock- 
bridge  was  the  centre.  Her  descriptions  of  the  characters 
of  the  society  with  which  she  was  intimate  might  be  com- 
pared to  those  of  Miss  Wilkins  of  the  succeeding  genera- 
tion. The  sale  of  The  Wide,  Wide  World  had,  as  I  note 
from  the  advertisement,  reached  the  fiftieth  thousand,  a 
sale  which  for  the  community  of  that  time  (the  country 
contained,  I  suppose,  about  twenty-five  millions  of  people) 
was  as  noteworthy  as  would  be  a  sale  to-day  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand.  In  1854,  was  published  the  account 
of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  whose  work 
had  been  done  under  the  leadership  of  Commodore  Wilkes. 
The  expedition  had  been  one  of  the  most  important 
scientific  undertakings  as  yet  initiated  by  the  Government, 
and  the  result  showed  that  my  father  was  fortunate  in 
being  able  to  secure  the  contract  for  the  publication  of 
the  narrative.  A  little  later,  was  issued  the  popular  ac- 
count of  Commodore  Perry's  expedition  to  Japan,  a 
journey  which,  as  far  as  the  United  States  was  concerned, 
constituted  practically  a  discovery  of  the  country.  It  is 
my  impression  that  Perry  secured  from  the  Japanese 
Government  a  larger  measure  of  hospitality  and  more 
important  political  and  commercial  privileges  than  had 
thus  far  been  conceded  to  any  foreign  invader. 

I  have  a  personal  memory  of  being  introduced  by  my 
father  to  Commodore  Perry  at  the  time  he  was  looking 
over  in  the  publishing  office  the  proofs  of  the  narrative 
of  the  expedition.  As  I  looked  up  with  admiration  at 
the  tall  figure  of  the  Commodore,  my  father  said:  "Now, 
Haven,  you  must  remember  this  gentleman  and  the  work 
that  he  has  done.  He  tells  us  that  he  has  discovered  a 
new  people  about  whom  in  the  course  of  the  coming  half- 
century  the  world  is  likely  to  hear  a  good  deal."  It  has, 
I  judge,  not  often  happened  in  the  history  of  the  world 
that  within  the  lifetime  of  one  man  a  nation  secures  such 


Festival  to  Authors  219 

development  as  has  come  to  the  Island  Empire  of  the 
Pacific  during  the  sixty  years  since  Commodore  Perry 
made  his  little  prophecy. 

In  1855,  a  little  while  before  the  destruction  by  fire  of 
the  unfortunate  New  York  Crystal  Palace,  my  father 
conceived  the  idea  of  having  the  publishers  of  the  country 
give  some  kind  of  an  entertainment  that  should  bring 
together  the  authors  of  the  country.  He  induced  the 
leading  publishers  to  take  up  the  plan,  and  the  Publishers' 
Association  was  organised,  or  was  re-organised,  for  the 
purpose,  with  William  H.  Appleton  as  president,  and 
G.  P.  Putnam  as  secretary  and  man-of-all-work.  The 
entertainment  took  the  form  of  a  fruit  festival,  which  was 
held  in  the  Crystal  Palace  (one  of  the  few  buildings  in 
New  York  suitable  for  the  purpose),  in  September,  1855. 
The  occasion  was  described  as  a  great  success,  and  is  a 
noteworthy  incident  in  the  history  of  American  literature 
and  of  American  literary  relations.  It  certainly  empha- 
sised the  growing  importance  of  the  group  of  literary 
workers.  I  have  not  been  so  fortunate  as  to  preserve  a 
copy  of  the  bound  volume  which  described  the  undertak- 
ing and  in  which  the  addresses  were  recorded.  I  remember 
that  authors  were  interested  in  coming  to  New  York 
from  very  distant  points,  and  that  in  many  cases  these 
authors  met  in  this  way  for  the  first  time  publishers  who 
had  heretofore  been  known  to  them  only  through  corre- 
spondence. 

The  following  two  letters  are  to  be  connected  with  the 
Fruit  Festival. 


New  York,  Sept.  20,  1855. 

George  P.  Putnam. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Will  this  toast  answer  your  purpose? 
"The  Fine  Arts:  the  Offspring  of  Free  Institutions  and  the 


220  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Ornament  of  a  Practical  People ; — their  Use  lies  in  their  Beauty 
and  their  Beauty  lies  in  their  Truth." 

With  the  best  wishes, 

Yours  ever, 

Samuel  Osgood. 

Boston,  Sept.  17,  1855. 
My  dear  Putnam: 

I  have  just  heard  from  Holmes,  who  is  in  Kentucky.  He 
says  he  will  not  say  "no,"  and  cannot  now  say  "yes";  so  I, 
knowing  the  jolly  little  coz  very  well,  count  on  his  appearance. 
I  have  not  seen  Mr.  Everett  since,  as  it  seems  almost  of  no 
use,  as  I  am  persuaded  he  will  be  there.  You  will  have  a  great 
time.  Fruits,  Flowers,  and  Women!  Could  anything  be 
better  arranged? 

I  am  glad  to  hear  your  shakes  are  flown.  Pray  heaven 
they  may  not  alight  on  my  shoulders.  I  have  a  great  horror 
of  such  devilish  visitors.  Thank  you  and  your  wife  for  liking 
my  Vrow.  She  cottoned  to  yours  firmly  and  no  longer  ago 
than  last  evening  I  heard  her  quoting  Mrs.  P.  to  a  friend. 

I  do  not  think  Whipple  will  be  at  the  Dinner.  Indeed  I 
know  he  will  not,  so  please  dash  him  off.  He  is  too  busy  at 
home  to  leave.     We  shall  not  increase  our  list  in  the  Catalogue. 

I  should  like  to  know  what  guns  are  to  speak  on  the  27th, 
so  that  if  there  is  too  much  ammunition  and  my  cartridge  is 
not  needed,  I  shall  not  be  obliged  to  pull  my  small  trigger. 

Very  truly  yours, 

James  T.  Fields. 

Outside  of  the  circle  of  writers  already  at  work  in  New 
York,  it  was  undoubtedly  the  case  that  the  New  England 
group  was  by  far  the  most  important,  and  must  have  ex- 
ceeded in  numbers  all  the  authors  who  could  be  collected 
from  Pennsylvania,  from  the  South  or  the  West. 

In  1854,  was  published  The  Bay  Path,  the  first  book  of 
an  author  who  in  succeeding  years  secured  a  very  large 
share  of  popularity,  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland.  Dr.  Holland's 
later  books   came  into   the  hands  of  Charles  Scribner, 


Publishing  Undertakings  221 

who  was  a  personal  friend,  and  who  proved  for  him  a  very- 
successful  publisher.  It  is  my  impression  that  this  first 
book  failed  to  secure  at  the  time  any  satisfactory  success. 
Dr.  Holland's  later  popularity  has  been  ascribed  by  one 
rather  critical  critic,  to  his  faculty  for  reaching  the  common- 
place stratum  of  the  reading  public,  which  is,  naturally, 
one  of  its  larger  divisions.  This  critic  spoke  of  his  being 
able  to  dress  up  certain  very  obvious  suggestions  or  very 
familiar  wisdom  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  a  little 
less  obvious,  and  thus  to  give  to  the  reader  who  had  pierced 
with  no  very  great  intellectual  difficulty  the  veil  of  con- 
cealment, the  feeling  that  he  must  himself  have  been  a 
person  of  no  little  discernment. 

In  the  same  year  was  issued  A  Journey  to  Iceland  and 
Travels  in  Sweden  and  Norway,  by  the  Prussian  traveller, 
Ida  PfeifTer.  The  volumes  had  been  translated  by 
Charlotte  Cooper,  the  daughter  of  the  novelist.  Miss 
Pfeiffer  continued  her  travels  and  her  literary  record  of 
these  journeys  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  longer.  It  was 
reported  of  her  later  that  she  had  been  the  only  lady 
spared  by  certain  Asiatics  into  whose  hands  her  party 
had  fallen.  The  others  were  not  only  killed,  but  eaten. 
A  cynical  journalist  suggested  that  Miss  PfeifTer's  life 
was  saved  at  the  expense  of  her  reputation  for  attract- 
iveness. The  works  of  Bayard  Taylor  continued  to  grow 
by  the  addition,  from  year  to  year,  of  the  records  of  travels 
in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe.  They  are  possibly  the  only 
series  of  travels  for  which  there  continued  to  be  a  public 
interest  extending  over  so  long  a  series  of  years.  Views 
Afoot  had  been  published  in  1848.  At  this  time,  sixty- 
four  years  later,  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons  still  find  occasion  to 
keep  in  print  eleven  volumes  of  travels  and  five  volumes 
of  novels.  The  novels,  beginning  with  John  Godfrey's 
Fortune,  and  mcluding  Hannah  Thurston  and  The  Story 
of  Kennett,  attracted  no  little  attention  on  both  sides  of 


222  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  Atlantic,  and  had  the  honour  of  being  quite  extensively 
pirated  in  Great  Britain. 

In  co-operation  with  the  London  publisher,  my  father 
issued,  in  1856,  A  Personal  Narrative  of  a  Visit  to  El 
Medina  and  Mecca,  by  Lieutenant  Richard  Burton  of 
the  Bombay  army.  The  book  contained  an  introduction 
by  Bayard  Taylor.  The  author  became  well  known  in 
later  years  in  connection  with  his  noteworthy  edition  of 
the  Arabian  Nights,  with  the  full  and  unexpurgated  text. 
His  Memoirs  were  published  a  few  years  since  by  his 
widow,  Lady  Burton.  The  journey  described  in  this  vol- 
ume appears  to  have  been  attended  with  exceptional  risks. 
Burton  had  a  very  thorough  knowledge  of  Oriental  lan- 
guages and  customs.  He  disguised  himself  as  a  Moham- 
medan dervish,  and  was  able  in  this  disguise  to  witness 
the  relgious  ceremonials  at  the  tomb  of  Mohammed,  being 
probably  the  first  Christian  who  had  ever  been  present 
at  these  functions.  Properly  enough,  the  publication  of 
Burton's  narrative  was  accompanied  by  the  issue  of  a  new 
edition  of  the  "Koran."  In  1856,  Benson  J.  Lossing, 
who  had  already  come  before  the  public  with  his  Field 
Book  of  the  American  Revolution,  published  an  edition  of 
Trumbull's  M'Fingal. 

By  1856,  the  business  as  created  and  developed  by  my 
father  had  reached  its  greatest  success.  Bearing  in  mind 
his  lack  of  original  capital  and  the  fact  that  the  circle  of 
friends  and  literary  correspondents  were  such  as  he  him- 
self had  had  to  bring  together  within  a  term  of  less  than 
ten  years,  it  is  possible  that  he  had  really  accomplished 
more  with  the  resources  at  his  command  than  had  proved 
practicable  for  any  other  American  publisher  of  his  time. 

In  1855  the  family  migrated  to  the  then  rural  region  of 
Yonkers. 

My  father  possessed  a  full  share  of  public  spirit,  and 


Lectures  in  Yonhers  223 

was  always  ready  to  interest  himself  in  work  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  any  community  in  which  he  lived.  He  speedily 
took  an  active  part  in  the  social  organisation  and  leader- 
ship in  the  village.  He  became  intimate  with  Robert 
P.  Getty,  who  was  during  the  greater  portion  of  this  time 
the  president  of  the  village.  Mr.  Getty  was  the  father 
of  General  Robert  Getty,  who  did  good  service  later  in 
the  Civil  War.  My  father's  most  important  service  in 
Yonkers  was  in  connection  with  the  instituting  of  a  series 
of  public  lectures.  These  lectures  had  a  double  purpose. 
It  was  intended  that  they  should  help  to  bring  the  people 
together  and  should  give  to  them  in  attractive  form  useful 
information;  while  it  was  further  desired  to  secure,  from 
the  lecture  receipts,  funds  with  which  to  establish  a  free 
town  library.  It  is  my  impression  that  some  kind  of  an 
association  was  incorporated,  which,  in  accordance  with 
the  routine  of  the  time,  took  the  name  of  a  lyceum.  My 
father  was  himself  largely  responsible  for  the  selection  of 
the  men  invited  to  lecture,  while  he  was  also  (as  was  usually 
the  case  in  any  of  his  public  work)  a  member  of  the  Guar- 
antee Committee,  which  took  the  responsibility  of  pro- 
viding the  payment  for  the  lecturer,  and  which  undertook 
to  make  up  the  deficiency  in  case,  either  through  the 
weather  or  other  hindrances,  the  receipts  failed  to  meet 
the  expenses.  Not  a  few  of  the  lecturers  invited  were 
personal  friends  of  my  father,  and  in  a  number  of  cases 
they  came  to  Yonkers  as  his  guests.  I  remember,  among 
others,  John  B.  Gough,  the  temperance  reformer;  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  Wendell  Phillips;  Elihu  Burrit,  the 
"learned blacksmith " ; Theodore  Tilton,  Dr.G.B.Cheever, 
Dr.  Bethune,  Dr.  E.  H.  Chapin;  W.  H.  Milburn,  the 
blind  preacher;  Lowell,  and,  of  course,  Curtis.  It  was  in 
this  Yonkers  course  that  Phillips  (who  came  to  our  town 
more  than  once)  delivered  his  famous  lecture  on  "The 
Lost  Arts."     One  of  Beecher's  discourses  had  to  do,  if 


224  George  Palmer  Putnam 

I  remember  rightly,  with  the  state  of  affairs  in  Kansas, 
which,  during  1855,  was  being  fought  over  between  the 
Pro -Slavery  group  with  their  Lecompton  Constitution, 
and  the  Free  Soilers,  whose  headquarters  were  in  Lawrence. 
On  the  final  vote  in  regard  to  the  status  of  Kansas,  the 
Free  Soilers  won,  though  by  a  narrow  majority.  This 
result  was  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  Free  Soil  Committees 
of  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  which 
had  found  men  who  were  willing  to  go  to  Kansas  as  settlers, 
and  which  provided  funds  to  help  out  their  expenses. 
These  settlers,  largely  from  New  England,  made  them- 
selves bona  fide  citizens  of  the  State.  The  men  who  were 
opposed  to  them  were,  in  part  at  least,  simply  invaders 
from  Pike  County,  Missouri,  who  succeeded  (bringing 
their  guns  with  them  for  the  purpose  of  argument)  in 
getting  their  votes  counted.  Among  the  active  leaders  in 
the  work  in  Massachusetts  were  Phillips,  Frank  Sanborn, 
Edward  Everett  Hale,  John  M.  Forbes,  and  T.  W.  Hig- 
ginson.  The  most  important  member  of  the  committee 
in  New  York  was  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  who  was  ably 
assisted  by  Theodore  Tilton.  Curtis,  although,  of  course, 
still  a  youngster,  was  an  active  worker  in  the  cause. 
Gerrit  Smith,  a  life-long  friend  of  John  Brown,  should 
not  be  forgotten.  My  father  was  a  subscriber  to  the 
fund  and  helped  to  interest  richer  men  like  his  friend 
Getty.  The  securing  of  Kansas  as  a  Free  Soil  State  was 
the  turning  point  in  the  long  political  conflict  between 
the  Southerners,  who  had  so  long  dominated  the  Govern- 
ment, and  the  anti-slavery  spirit  of  the  North.  It  was 
the  loss  of  Kansas  which  finally  convinced  the  shrewder 
among  the  Southern  leaders  that  they  could  not  hope, 
after  the  close  of  the  term  of  Buchanan,  to  retain 
the  control  of  the  National  Government.  This  was, 
therefore,  one  of  the  determining  causes  of  the  Civil 
War. 


THe  "  Tribune  **  225 

I  do  not  find  the  record  of  the  controversy  or  "dissen- 
sion" about  the  Press  referred  to  in  the  following  letter 
to  Mr.  Ripley,  nor  any  further  references  to  the  matter. 
Mr.  Ripley  was  at  the  time  the  literary  editor  of  the 
Tribune. 

New  York,  January,  1856. 
George  Ripley,  Esq. 
Dear  Sir: 

The  unpleasant  personal  aspect  which  has  been  given  to 
the  dissension  about  the  "Press"  has  given  me  very  deep  con- 
cern and  annoyance.  It  has  been  especially  distressing  to  me 
that  you  should  have  any  ground  to  suppose  that  I  had  either 
originated,  or  circulated,  or  countenanced  any  assertions  or 
reports  to  your  prejudice ;  and  I  feel  bound  in  justice  to  myself 
as  well  as  to  you  to  say  that  if  the  accidental  connection  of  my 
name  with  any  paragraphs  or  rumours  of  that  nature  gives 
you  or  any  one  else  the  impression  that  I  had  any  feeling 
toward  you  not  in  accordance  with  entire  and  sincere  respect 
and  good- will,  I  can  only  say  that  it  has  been  my  misfortune 
rather  than  any  deliberate  fault,  and  that  I  heartily  regret  it. 
I  say  this,  perhaps,  quite  superfluously,  for  I  trust  you  do  not 
think  otherwise,  but  I  say  it  of  my  own  impulse  alone,  and 
from  a  sense  of  justice  only,  not  for  any  selfish  purpose  or 
"extorted"  influence. 

In  the  same  spirit  and  for  the  same  reasons,  I  cannot  help 
adding  that  as  far  as  my  own  observation  has  gone,  and  as  far 
as  I  am  competent  to  judge,  the  criticisms  in  the  Tribune  have 
never  been  justly  liable  to  the  charge  of  partiality.  Their 
eminent  ability  is  acknowledged  on  all  sides.  So  far  as  our 
own  publications  are  concerned,  we  have  always  been  fully 
satisfied,  for  if  any  have  received  less  laudation  in  the  Tribune 
than  I  imagined  they  deserved,  I  have  not  doubted  the  general 
fairness  and  independence  of  the  critic. 

As  to  the  question  that  has  been  raised  in  regard  to  what 
have  been  considered  inconsistent  relations  and  engagements, 
it  is  not  one  that  I  should  have  started.  Without  any 
reflection  upon  the  judgment  of  those  who  think  that  impar- 
ls 


226  George  Palmer  Putnam 

tiality  in  such  connections  is  impossible,  I  am  free  to  say  as  an 
individual  that  I  have  never  seen  an  instance  of  a  book  criti- 
cism in  the  Tribune  which  has  appeared  to  me  conclusive  of 
the  reviewer's  partiality  for  any  particular  publisher.  I  can 
for  one  believe  that  the  relations  which  have  been  referred  to 
may  exist  in  entire  harmony  with  justice  and  fairness  to  all 
concerned.  Such  relations  of  course  might  be  abused  by  a 
weak  or  uncertain  person  without  character  or  standing 
but  that  they  have  been,  in  connection  with  the  Tribune,  I 
have  never  supposed  and  do  not  believe  now.  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  one  question  is  whether  the  reviews  are  actually  fair, 
discriminating,  and  impartial — neither  the  publisher,  the 
author,  nor  the  public  have  anything  to  do  with  their  author- 
ship, or  the  critic's  other  relations  or  engagements. 

Engaged  as  I  am  in  all  the  harassing  details  of  active  business,, 
and  with  no  time,  ability,  or  inclination  to  meddle  with  such 
a  controversy  as  this,  I  only  regret  that  a  merely  accidental 
connection  with  it  has  given  the  impression,  perhaps,  that  I 
have  personal  grievances  against  the  Press  or  gentlemen  con- 
nected with  it.  Whatever  fault  may  be  justly  charged  upon 
me,  in  regard  to  the  matter,  I  am  read}'-  frankly  to  acknowledge 
and  atone  for  as  I  can,  but  I  did  not  feel  that  there  was  just 
provocation  for  the  personality  which  the  Tribune  fastened 
upon  us,  and  hence  the  protest  against  it. 

I  could  not  do  less  than  say  this  much  to  you,  and  heartily 
hope  that  there  may  be  no  more  ill-feeling  on  this  subject. 

Respectfully  yours, 

George  P.  Putnam. 

It  was  during  our  sojourn  in  Yonkers,  in  October  and 
November,  1856,  that  the  first  campaign  of  the  Republican 
party  took  place,  the  fight  being  for  the  election  of  John 
C.  Fremont  against  James  Buchanan.  A  third  ticket, 
put  forward  by  the  American  or  Know-Nothing  party. 
presented  the  names  of  Millard  Fillmore  of  New  York 
and  Andrew  Jackson  Donelson  of  Tennessee.  I  may  be 
said  to  have  begun  with  this  campaign  my  active  political 


THe  Campaign  for  Fremont  227 

interests.  The  boys  of  the  village  could  shout,  if  they 
could  not  vote.  They  could  also  burn  barrels  whenever 
barrels  could  be  appropriated  for  the  purpose.  As  far 
as  I  can  remember,  the  boys  were  equally  divided  between 
Fremont  and  Buchanan,  and  the  shouting  and  the  barrel 
burning  went  on  in  ardent  competition.  My  father  busied 
himself  actively  in  the  work  of  the  Fremont  campaign 
committee  of  the  town.  He  secured  speakers,  drummed 
up  voters,  printed  and  circulated  tracts  and  broadsides 
setting  forth  the  nature  of  the  issue  and  giving  the  details 
of  the  plucky  fight  that  was  at  that  time  being  carried  on 
by  the  Free  Soilers  in  Kansas.  My  father's  friend  and 
neighbour,  Mr.  Smith  Homans,  was  chairman  of  the 
American,  or  Fillmore,  committee,  and  I  remember  not  a 
few  burning,  though  always  good-tempered,  discussions 
that  took  place  between  them,  as  to  the  duty  of  the  citizen, 
at  this  juncture.  The  town  went  Republican  by  a  small 
majority,  but  the  State  gave  its  electoral  vote  for  Bucha- 
nan. The  disappointment  at  the  national  result  was  very 
keen.  My  father  had  been,  as  usual,  one  of  the  optimists, 
and  was  very  confident  of  success.  It  was  impossible 
for  him  or  for  the  good  citizens  working  with  him,  whose 
hopes  were  bound  up  in  the  Anti-Slavery  cause,  to  re- 
cognise at  the  time  how  very  much  more  advantageous 
for  the  final  success  of  that  cause  was  the  election  of 
Buchanan,  than  would  have  been  the  placing  in  the  White 
House  of  their  candidate,  Fremont.  The  latter  was 
known  at  that  time  to  the  country  at  large  only  in  con- 
nection with  his  leadership  of  an  exploring  expedition  in 
the  South-west.  It  took  the  rather  drastic  experience  of 
the  Civil  War  to  make  clear  how  inadequate  the  good- 
looking  and  rather  empty-headed  general  was  for  any 
important  or  continued  responsibility.  He  would  un- 
doubtedly have  made  a  muddle  of  the  business  of  carrying 
on  the  National  Government.     He  was  the  kind  of  man 


228  George  Palmer  Putnam 

to  have  been  utilised  as  a  tool  by  shrewder  people  about 
him,  and  might  easily  have  been  used  to  bad  purpose. 
The  election  of  Buchanan  gave  time,  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  war,  for  the  Anti-Slavery  sentiment  to  consolidate 
itself  and  to  gather  into  its  forces  not  only  the  more  radical 
groups  but  a  great  proportion  of  the  conservative  citizens 
of  the  Northern  States.  The  truculence  and  intolerance 
of  the  Southern  leaders,  as  evinced  in  their  control  of 
Buchanan's  Cabinet,  aroused  throughout  the  North  an 
ever-increasing  feeling  of  indignation  and  revolt.  North- 
erners who  had  before  distrusted  the  Anti-Slavery  leaders 
as  fanatics,  were  finally  driven  to  the  belief  that  the  salva- 
tion of  the  nation  depended  upon  the  dispossession  from 
the  control  of  the  national  policy  of  the  slave-holding 
leaders.  The  campaign  of  1856  was  an  exciting  one,  and 
the  boys  had  their  full  share  of  the  excitement  and  by  far 
the  larger  portion  of  the  fun. 

A  neighbour  in  Yonkers  was  Frederick  S.  Cozzens,  who 
was  best  known  to  the  public  (at  least  outside  of  Yonkers) 
as  the  author  of  the  ' '  Sparrowgrass  Papers."  Mr.  Cozzens 
was  a  wine  merchant  of  genial  not  to  say  jovial  tempera- 
ment and  with  a  very  ready  wit.  It  is  my  impression 
that  he  had  not  thought  of  himself  as  an  author  until 
comparatively  late  in  life.  He  must,  I  think,  have  been 
about  fifty  at  the  publication  of  his  first  book.  His  home 
was  in  South  Yonkers,  some  two  miles  from  our  own  house, 
but  we  saw  him  frequently  and  thought  of  him  as  one  of 
the  nearer  neighbours.  During  Thackeray's  stay  in  the 
country,  Cozzens  succeeded  in  securing  his  presence  in 
Yonkers  at  a  dinner  party  which  constituted  one  of  the 
literary  events  of  the  Yonkers  season. 

I  have  already  made  reference  to  the  popularity  secured 
by  the  "Sparrowgrass  Papers,"-  as  published  in  Putnam's 
Monthly.  One  paper  of  the  series  brought  my  father  into 
some  little  good-natured  chaffing  with  his  Yonkers  friends. 


THe  "  Sparrowgrass  Papers'*  229 

During  our  stay  in  Yonkers,  our  establishment  included, 
at  least  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  a  horse.  He  was 
never  a  very  stylish  or  rapid  beast,  but  he  was  supposed 
always  to  be  equal  to  the  work  of  taking  care  of  the  family 
carry-all  which  made  the  daily  trips  to  the  station  and  to 
the  market  and  the  weekly  journey  to  church.  My  father 
had  had  but  little  to  do  with  horses  and  was  a  very  bad 
judge  of  their  merits.  Like  some  other  really  modest 
men,  however,  he  was  in  this  particular  respect  not  quite 
ready  to  admit  his  own  inadequacy  and  to  trust  to  the 
counsel  of  others.  He  would  buy  his  own  horses  for  him- 
self, and  the  series  of  family  beasts  of  which  I  have  mem- 
ory, extending  through  a  number  of  homes  from  Yonkers 
onward,  presented  a  rather  varied  and  original  list  of  de- 
fects and  incapacities.  The  changes  were  numerous,  and 
there  was  naturally  on  each  change  a  substantial  percent- 
age of  loss. 

In  coming  up  in  the  evening  train  the  day  after  the 
publication  of  a  number  of  the  Monthly,  my  father  noticed 
that  the  neighbours  who  were  (as  was  pleasant  to  observe) 
looking  over  the  new  number,  found  in  it  occasion  for  no 
little  laughter.  He  was  naturally  pleased  that  the  number 
should  be  a  success,  and  he  assumed  at  once  that  the  fun 
had  been  found  in  the  "Sparrowgrass"  contribution.  I 
may  explain  that  as  the  series  progressed,  it  had  been 
thought  no  longer  necessary  to  refer  to  the  editor  the 
"copy"  for  the  successive  "Sparrowgrass  Papers."  The 
manuscripts  had  gone  directly  from  the  author  to 
the  printer.  This  was  the  more  necessary  as  the 
author  was  always  late  with  his  copy.  In  the  hurry 
of  completing  the  last  forms  of  this  particular  num- 
ber, my  father  had  not  himself  had  time  to  read  even 
the  proof  of  the  earlier  articles.  It  was  only  an  hour 
or  two  later  that,  "in  going  over  the  magazine,  he  found 
in  the  "Sparrowgrass  Paper"  a  very  vivid  and  humor- 


230  George  Palmer  Putnam 

ous  description  of  the  publisher  and  the  publisher's 
horse.  The  latter  possessed,  as  here  described,  almost 
every  conceivable  ailment  or  defect.  He  had  the  heaves, 
he  was  spavined,  he  was  blind  in  one  eye  and  had 
the  staggers  in  the  other,  he  balked  and  remained  firmly 
fixed  when,  in  connection  with  the  approach  of  the  train, 
it  was  most  important  that  he  should  get  on,  and  at  other 
times,  when  he  was  expected  to  wait  patiently  for  the 
completion  of  the  marketing  order,  he  would  dash  off 
suddenly  as  if  he  had  very  urgent  business  at  the  north 
end  of  the  village.  Mr.  Cozzens  had  rather  cleverly 
merged  together  the  different  defects  and  difficulties  that 
had  occurred  with  different  horses,  and  had  then,  in  order 
to  give  good  measure  and  in  the  chance  that  he  might 
have  forgotten  something,  added  a  few  other  blemishes 
which  had  not  been  found  even  in  our  rather  unsatisfactory 
stable.  It  did  seem  rather  hard  that  the  publisher  should 
be  expected  to  pay  at  the  rate  of  $10  per  page  for  an 
article  that  was  making  fun  of  himself.  My  father  did 
not  appear,  however,  to  take  the  matter  very  much  to 
heart.  I  think  the  annoyance  was  greater  on  the  part 
of  the  publisher's  wife. 

The  business  men  of  Yonkers,  apparently  not  quite  so 
much  in  a  hurry  as  those  of  the  later  generation,  preferred 
during  the  summer  months  of  the  year  to  make  their 
daily  journey  to  the  city  by  boat  rather  than  by  train. 
As  I  remember,  the  company  divided  itself  between  the 
two  boats  according  to  their  political  proclivities.  The 
Isaac  P.  Smith  took  the  Republican  citizens,  and  the 
Metamora  was  filled  with  what  we  Republican  boys  called 
the  "Democratic  Gang."  The  boats  were  about  equal 
in  speed,  and  for  the  boys  at  least,  who  had  the  occasional 
opportunity  of  going  to  the  city,  their  daily  race  was  a 
matter  of  constantly  renewed  excitement. 

Nine  miles  north  of  our  home  in  Yonkers  was  Sunny- 


THe  Home  of  Irving  231 

side,  the  home  of  Washington  Irving.  When  Mr.  Irving 
had  first  bought  his  land  on  the  immediate  border  of  the 
river,  he  found  himself  in  the  village  of  Tarrytown.  Some 
years  later,  before  Irving's  death,  however,  the  township 
was  separated,  and,  with  or  without  Mr.  Irving's  consent, 
the  south  division  of  it,  including  Sunny  side,  was  called 
Irvington.  The  family  horse,  when  its  infirmities  and 
temper  permitted,  was  frequently  pressed  into  service  for 
a  drive  to  Sunnyside.  I  have  very  pleasant  memories, 
not  so  much  of  talking  to  the  old  gentleman,  as  of  listen- 
ing to  his  talk  with  my  father.  I  was  also  very  hospitably 
cared  for  by  the  two  nieces,  Catherine  and  Sarah,  ladies 
who  at  that  time  must  have  been  well  beyond  middle  age, 
but  who  were  always  referred  to  by  their  uncle  as  "the 
girls."  They  were  the  daughters  of  Ebenezer  Irving 
his  oldest  brother,  who  himself  died  at  Sunnyside  in  1856. 
Ebenezer  had  failed  in  business  a  good  many  years  before, 
and  Washington  had  taken  upon  himself  the  care  of  the 
old  gentleman  and  of  the  daughters.  These  latter  were, 
in  fact,  practically  adopted  into  his  own  family.  Unfor- 
tunately, there  was  no  formal  or  legal  adoption.  The 
lack  of  such  formality  made  an  important  difference 
later  in  the  property  rights  possessed  by  the  two  ladies 
in  Mr.  Irving's  works.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  copy- 
right law,  it  was  practicable  to  secure  a  renewal  for  the 
second  term  of  fourteen  years  only  if,  at  the  time  of 
the  expiration  of  the  first  term  of  twenty-eight  years,  the 
author  or  his  widow  or  his  children  were  living.  In 
the  absence  of  widow  or  children,  it  was  not  possible  to 
secure  a  second  term  of  copyright  for  the  writings  of 
Irving.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons  did  what  was  in  their  power 
to  secure  an  income  for  these  nieces,  but  the  competition 
of  the  unauthorised  editions  caused  this  income  to  be 
very  much  smaller  than  it  ought  to  have  been. 

I  remember  on  one  occasion  being  with  my  father  at 


232  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Sunny  side  at  the  time  when  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Life 
of  Washington  was  going  through  the  press.  The  author 
was  looking  for  certain  papers  concerning  which  he  wished 
to  have  a  word  with  his  publisher.  The  open  table  desk 
on  which  his  work  was  being  done  was  covered  with  little 
piles  of  papers,  notes,  partially  finished  manuscripts,  re- 
ferences, memoranda,  etc.,  held  in  place  more  or  less  safely 
by  pebbles  brought  in  from  the  garden  walk.  My  father 
finally  said:  "Mr.  Irving,  this  is  not  an  adequate  desk 
for  a  man  who  has  important  literary  work  in  train.  You 
must  let  me  send  you  a  modern  desk  properly  arranged 
with  pigeon-holes,  in  which  these  different  classes  of  papers 
can  be  sorted  for  quick  and  convenient  reference,  and  I 
will  only  ask  you  to  let  me  carry  away  the  old  table." 
Irving  gave  some  land  of  an  utterance  which  my  father 
thought  fit  to  accept  as  an  assent  to  his  suggestion,  and 
the  next  week  a  beautifully  finished  desk,  possessing  in- 
numerable compartments,  was  sent  up  to  Sunnyside,  and 
the  expressman  was  instructed  to  bring  back,  and  actually 
did  bring  back,  the  old  table  on  which  had  been  written 
a  number  of  Irving's  earlier  books.  In  going  to  Sunny- 
side  a  few  days  after  the  delivery  of  his  present,  my  father 
naturally  expected  to  receive  from  his  friend  some  word 
of  recognition  or  of  thanks.  In  place  of  that  there  was 
something  between  a  groan  and  an  indignant  growl.  "Oh, 
Putnam,"  said  the  troubled  author,  "you  have  ruined  my 
work.  I  have  placed  my  papers  in  these  confounded 
pigeon-holes,  and  I  can't  remember  where  a  single  paper 
is.  I  have  had  'the  girls'  in  here  this  morning  trying  to 
help  me  to  find  things.  I  do  not  know  how  I  am  ever 
going  to  finish  Washington  on  this  new-fangled  piece  of 
furniture."  My  father  soothed  his  irate  author  down  as 
well  as  he  could,  and  devoted  an  hour  to  writing  out  with 
his  own  neat  script  a  series  of  labels  indicating  the  different 
classes  of  notes  and  papers,  which  labels  were  tacked  by 


International  Copyright  233 

the  niece  Catherine  on  their  several  pigeon-holes  and  com- 
partments. I  hope  that  the  result  was,  on  the  whole, 
satisfactory.  I  did  not  happen  to  hear  of  any  further 
comment.  The  old  table  was  preserved  by  my  father, 
with  a  plate  laid  into  the  top  giving  a  record  of  its  origin 
and  a  reference  to  the  work  that  had  been  done  upon  it. 

The  question  of  International  Copyright,  in  which  the 
new  member  of  Congress  from  Philadelphia  was  prepared 
to  interest  himself,  did  not  secure  any  large  measure  of 
attention  during  the  troublesome  year  1857. 

Philadelphia,  March  6.  1857. 
George  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Being  a  member-elect  of  the  next  Congress  from  this  city, 
and  intending  to  take  an  active  part  in  procuring  the  passage 
of  an  International  Copyright,  I  shall  be  greatly  obliged  to 
you  if  you  will  furnish  me  at  leisure  with  such  suggestions  as 
you  deem  influential  in  its  favour. 

I  most  particularly  desire  an  accurate  account  of  legislation 
on  this  subject  in  Europe ;  the  kingdoms  between  which  treaties 
of  this  kind  exist,  and,  if  possible,  an  abstract  or  copy  of  the 
International  Copyright  Treaty  between  England  and  France, 
or  any  other  of  the  Continental  Powers. 

Though  not  enjoying  the  pleasure  of  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  you,  yet  your  well-known  courtesy  and  liberal- 
minded  views  as  a  publisher  embolden  me  to  trouble  you 
with  this  request. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Edward  Joy  Morris. 

The  note  of  Horace  Greeley  (deciphered  with  no  little 
difficulty  from  his  puzzling  script)  has  to  do  with  a  lecture 
in  the  course  before  the  Yonkers  Library  Association,  an 
association  in  which  (as  usual)  G.  P.  Putnam  was  the 
"working  member." 


234  George  Palmer  Putnam 

New  York,  May  4,  1857. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  shall  be  ready  to  go  up  on  Monday  next,  not  probably 
until  5^  o'clock.  I  shall  be  glad  to  avail  myself  of  your 
kind  proffer. 

I  am  glad  that  your  people  are  willing  to  hear  what  I  have 
to  say  about  "Reforms  and  Reformers." 

Yours, 

Horace  Greeley. 
Geo.  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THe  Disasters  of  1857 

IN  July,  1857,  a  misfortune  came  upon  my  father,  the 
full  importance  of  which  was  not  realised  for  a  month 
or  two,  but  the  results  of  which  were  far-reaching. 
A  year  or  two  back,  he  had  taken  into  partnership  a  young 
man  who  had  served  as  cashier  and  book-keeper  and  who 
had  given  a  most  favourable  impression  on  the  ground  of 
zeal,  personal  interest,  and  general  efficiency.  The  partner 
contributed  on  his  part  no  capital  and  the  interest  assigned 
to  him  in  the  firm  was  therefore  not  large.  He  was,  how- 
ever, given  full  authority  to  manage  the  finances  of  the 
firm,  signing  the  firm  name  on  checks,  notes,  etc.,  and 
having  full  control  of  its  resources  in  cash,  credits,  and 
accounts.  The  publishing  operations  had  more  than  once, 
prior  to  1857,  been  somewhat  more  extended  than  the 
resources  immediately  available  had  justified.  My  father, 
while  in  certain  ways  a  good  man  of  business,  was  by  tem- 
perament and  by  constitution  an  optimist.  He  very 
much  preferred  to  believe  (and  usually  succeeded  in  believ- 
ing) that  "things  would  come  out  right."  He  found  it 
very  difficult  indeed  to  convince  himself  that  any  men 
with  whom  he  had  to  do,  and  particularly  any  men  with 
whom  he  had  direct  personal  relations,  would  fail  to  do 
what  they  had  promised  and  to  carry  out  to  the  full  any 
obligations  that  they  had  assumed.     In  his  business  con- 

235 


236  George  Palmer  Putnam 

nections  as  in  his  personal  relations,  it  was  his  creed  and 
his  practice  to  have  "full  faith  in  the  other  fellow."  Such 
a  policy  and  method  of  action  had,  of  course,  their  own 
advantages.  In  the  first  place,  it  made  his  life  much 
happier.  Believing  that  men  were  as  friendly  as  their 
manner  or  words  indicated,  he  succeeded  in  maintaining 
friendly  relations  with  a  very  much  larger  circle  than  the 
average  man  is  apt  to  have  intimacies  with.  People  were 
fond  of  him  and  it  is  probable  that,  on  the  very  ground  of 
their  affection,  some  men  who  in  their  dealings  with  others 
might  not  be  entirely  scrupulous  felt  a  personal  interest 
in  protecting  my  father  and  in  sparing  him  from  any 
grievances  or  losses  caused  through  an  over-confidence 
in  them.  On  the  other  hand,  this  was  not  universally 
the  case  and  never  could  be  with  the  world  constituted  as 
it  is.  Even  in  the  book  business  and  in  the  kindred  trades 
which  make  a  living  through  the  book  publishers,  there 
are  men  whose  word  cannot  always  be  trusted  when  there 
may  be  pressure  or  temptation,  men  who  will  take  advan- 
tage of  a  yielding  or  of  a  confiding  nature.  While  the 
general  status  of  trade  is  prosperous,  temptations  are 
fewer,  pressure  to  take  advantage  of  special  opportunities 
is  smaller,  and  many  men  will  manage  affairs  with  a  good 
measure  of  integrity  who  when  later  exposed  to  some 
special  pressure  will  find  their  standards  of  action  weaken- 
ing and  will  do  what  they  can  to  protect  themselves  at 
the  expense  of  others. 

Even  during  the  more  prosperous  times  in  my  father's 
business,  he  had  suffered  losses  through  placing  confidence 
in  untrustworthy  people,  losses  which  if  avoided  would 
have  served  to  increase  his  capital  and  to  strengthen  his 
foundations. 

Other  losses  equally  serious  or  possibly  greater  came  to 
him  from  time  to  time  through  his  over-estimate  of  the 
literary  standard  of  the  American  community  and  his 


The  Crisis  of  1857  237 

miscalculation  as  to  the  number  of  Americans  who  could 
be  depended  upon  to  read  the  higher  class  of  literature. 
Certain  of  the  ventures  which  brought  loss  instead  of  profit 
during  the  years  between  1844  and  1857  would,  a  few  years 
later,  have  proved  remunerative  undertakings.  It  would 
almost  seem,  as  if  he  had  been  looking  ahead  ten  or  fifteen 
years  too  far  in  h  s  estimates  as  to  the  wealth  and  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  communities  in  his  country.  The  business 
of  1855  had  proved  substantially  successful  and  there 
seemed  to  be  a  satisfactory  foundation  for  the  under- 
takings of  1856.  Unfortunately,  the  management  of  the 
financial  partner  had  itself  proved  less  adequate  and  less 
trustworthy  than  my  father  had  assumed.  Occupied  as 
he  was  himse  f  with  his  literary  plans,  he  preferred  to 
believe  that  the  details  of  the  accounts,  collections,  and 
payments  were  all  being  properly  cared  for.  At  some 
time  during  1856  the  young  partner  appears,  however,  to 
have  lost  his  head.  It  is  possible  that  he  had  been  indulg- 
ing also  (and  as  far  as  the  use  of  h  s  own  resources  went 
this  was  doubtless  his  right)  in  some  indiv  dual  invest- 
ments which  in  the  changes  of  the  markets  became  indi- 
vidual speculations.  It  proved  to  be  very  difficult,  from 
the  way  in  which  the  accounts  were  kept,  to  separate  the 
two  classes  of  ventures,  as  he  had  utilised  for  both  paper 
bearing  the  name  of  the  firm. 

On  the  fourth  of  July,  1857,  the  partner  was  drowned 
in  a  boating  excursion.  He  was  himself  a  good  swimmer 
and  it  is  probable  that  he  was  either  seized  with  cramps 
or  pulled  down  by  some  one  of  the  party.  It  became 
necessary  for  my  father  to  give  his  immediate  personal 
attention  to  the  conduct  of  the  financial  side  of  the  busi- 
ness, beginning,  of  course,  with  an  examination  of  the 
accounts  as  they  had  been  left.  These  last  were  to  some 
extent  confused,  and  when  the  confusion  came  to  be  dis- 
entangled, the  condition  was  found  to  be  unsatisfactory  in 


(238  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  extreme.  Notes  were  presented  for  payment,  or  for 
verification  with  reference  to  payment  later,  which  had 
not  been  recorded  on  the  bill  book  of  the  firm.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  expression  in  my  father's  face  on  the  July 
afternoon  when  he  returned  to  the  home  in  Yonkers  after 
a  long  session  in  the  office  with  the  accountant  who  had 
been  called  in  to  report  upon  the  status.  It  looked  for  the 
moment  as  if  all  the  hopefulness  of  his  life  was  crushed 
out.  The  blow  was  serious  and  the  disappointment  keen. 
He  had  built  up  from  practically  nothing  a  business  which 
ranked  high  in  repute  and  which  gave  promise  of  a  great 
future.  He  had  established  an  important  connection  with 
authors  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  his  relations  with 
whom  were  not  only  satisfactory  from  a  business  point 
of  view,  but  in  many  cases  intimate  and  friendly.  He 
held  an  honourable  position  in  the  book- trade  as  one  of  the 
leaders  among  the  American  publishers ;  and  his  name  was 
better  known  and  more  favourably  known  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic  than  was  the  case  with  other  publishers 
of  much  larger  means.  The  probability  that  the  business 
structure  erected  with  so  much  painstaking  and  intelligent 
effort  had  been  so  far  undermined  as  to  call  for  a  new 
beginning,  was  enough  to  bring  a  crushing  disappointment 
to  any  man.  His  native  courage,  however,  soon  reas- 
serted itself,  and  gloomy  as  were  the  weeks  and  the  months 
that  followed,  my  principal  memory  is  of  the  cheeriness 
and  pluck  of  my  father's  manner,  particularly  when  he  was 
at  home  with  mother  and  the  children.  I  got  permission 
at  that  time  to  go  more  frequently  to  the  office,  where  I 
was  able,  though  of  course  only  a  boy,  to  be  of  some  service 
in  urgent  errands  and  in  helping  to  care  for  special  papers. 
At  the  office,  the  cares  did  seem  to  be  black  enough,  but 
on  arriving  at  home  these  were,  as  said,  very  largely  put 
to  one  side. 

If  this  bad  management  of  the  resources  of  the  firm 


The  Crisis  of  1857  239 

and  the  possible  misuse  of  a  certain  portion  of  these 
resources  in  matters  for  which  the  firm  ought  not  to  have 
been  responsible  had  occurred  in  a  normal  business  year, 
the  property  available  would  have  been  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  meet  all  the  outstanding  obligations  and  to  leave 
a  substantial  margin  for  further  business  undertakings. 
Unfortunately,  1857  was  by  no  means  a  normal  year  in  its 
business  conditions.  The  country  had  for  some  years 
previous  been  in  a  state  of  what  appeared  to  be  a  sub- 
stantial prosperity.  As  a  result  of  this  prosperity,  there 
had  developed,  particularly  in  the  newer  States  of  the  West 
(States  that  we  now  speak  of  as  the  Central  States),  a 
spirit  of  speculation.  The  building  of  railroads  had  been 
pressed  forward  so  that  not  a  few  lines  were  traversing 
territory  in  which  there  was  not  yet  sufficient  business  to 
give  a  return  on  the  current  cost  of  the  running  of  either 
freight  or  passenger  trains;  while  the  income  was  in  any 
case  insufficient,  after  defraying  the  current  expenses,  to 
meet  the  interest  on  the  bonded  debt.  With  a  number  of 
the  roads,  the  proceeds  for  construction  had  been  largely 
secured  through  the  sale  of  bonds.  The  stock  was  re- 
tained by  the  promoters  or  was  issued  in  some  cases  as 
a  kind  of  collateral  to  the  towns  which  had  loaned  money 
to  assist  the  undertaking.  In  connection  with  this  specu- 
lation in  the  railroad-building  into  new  territory,  there 
had  been  a  very  considerable  amount  of  speculation  in 
town  lots  (that  is  to  say,  in  lots  of  districts  which  had  been 
laid  out  as  towns  but  for  which  the  towns  themselves  were 
still  to  be  created)  and  in  Government  lands.  The  dealers 
in  the  materials  utilised  by  the  roads  and  the  dealers  in 
the  building  materials  which  were  called  for  by  the  specu- 
lative builders  of  these  new  towns  were  themselves,  of 
necessity,  involved  in  the  credit  of  the  railroads  and  of  the 
builders. 

On  the  second  of  September,  1857,  the  Ohio  Life  and 


240  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Trust  Co.  of  Philadelphia  closed  its  doors.  As  the  name 
of  the  concern  indicated,  its  connections  were  largely  with 
the  West.  In  common  with  not  a  few  other  of  the  bank- 
ing concerns  and  trust  companies  which  had  come  into 
existence  in  the  Eastern  States,  it  had  utilised  in  advances 
on  Western  lands  the  moneys  collected  from  its  depositors 
and  from  those  making  investments  through  its  machin- 
ery. The  check  that  finally  came  to  the  sale  of  these 
lands  and  the  stoppage  of  the  payments  by  the  earlier 
purchasers  of  their  mortgage  interest  and  of  the  principal 
of  the  maturing  mortgages  made  it  impossible  for  this 
Philadelphia  company  to  meet  its  own  obligations.  Its 
case  was  that  of  a  long  series  of  similar  institutions  with 
headquarters  in  Philadelphia,  New  York,  Boston,  Balti- 
more, etc.,  and  the  suspension  became  general.  The 
individual  firms  whose  moneys  were  more  or  less  locked 
up  in  these  companies,  or  who  had  been  dependent  upon 
the  companies  for  an  extenuation  or  a  continuation  of 
their  credits,  were  also  compelled  to  stop  their  operations 
and  for  the  most  part  to  suspend  payment.  The  specie 
that  had  been  in  circulation  was  locked  up  by  its  holders 
to  so  considerable  an  extent  that  nearly  the  entire  series 
of  banks  in  the  Eastern  States  were  compelled  before  the 
first  of  October  to  suspend  specie  payments.  One  alone 
of  the  New  York  banks  was  strong  enough  to  maintain 
its  payments  in  the  specie  through  the  entire  crisis.  The 
Chemical  Bank,  which  had  been  sufficiently  conservative 
to  retain  adequate  resources  within  reach,  laid  in  this 
exceptional  record  the  foundations  of  its  later  exceptional 
success.  The  ruin  of  the  merchants  throughout  the 
country  was  very  general,  and  even  those  firms  whose 
resources  enabled  them  later  to  resume  their  business 
operations  were  for  the  time  seriously  crippled. 

The  merchants  and  planters  of  the  South  shared  in 
the  general  disasters.     They  had  been  utilising  largely 


THe  Crisis  of  1857  241 

advances  from  Northern  factors  made  on  the  credits  of 
future  crops  of  cotton,  rice,  and  sugar.  With  the  general 
suspension  of  payments,  the  factors  were,  of  course,  unable 
to  continue  these  advances  and  the  debts  due  from  the 
planters  to  their  local  store-keepers  had  to  remain  unpaid. 
The  book-trade  naturally  shared  in  the  general  disasters. 
Books  are  at  best  very  sensitive  commodities  and  the 
buying  of  books  in  time  of  stress  or  difficulty  can  always 
be  postponed  until  a  more  convenient  season.  A  large 
number  of  the  booksellers  were  compelled  to  close  their 
shutters,  and  the  publishers  who  were  dependent  upon  the 
collection  of  their  accounts  and  also  upon  the  continuation 
of  sales  in  like  manner,  were  very  largely  driven  to  the  wall. 
I  remember  my  father's  mentioning  that  one  dealer  in  New 
Orleans  was  owing  to  him  at  this  time  $8000,  of  which 
amount  he  received  nothing  whatever.  New  Orleans 
must  have  been  in  1857  a  better  book-buying  centre  than 
it  has  ever  been  since. 

With  the  general  interference  with  credit,  it  proved  not 
to  be  practicable  to  obtain  on  the  security  of  the  plates 
and  stock  belonging  to  the  firm  of  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Co. 
the  funds  required  to  meet  their  outstanding  obligations. 
A  publisher  is  always,  as  compared  with  a  dealer  in  articles 
of  current  value,  such  as  pork  or  L"nen,  at  a  disadvantage 
at  a  time  when  credits  are  interfered  with.  The  banks  do 
not  sufficiently  understand  the  value  of  such  articles  as 
plates,  books,  or  copyrights  to  be  prepared  to  accept  these 
as  collateral  in  the  way  in  which  they  would  accept  barrels 
of  pork  or  bales  of  cotton.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to 
make  an  assignment  of  the  entire  property  in  order  to 
secure  for  the  creditors  as  much  out  of  it  as  might  prove 
possible.  The  assignment  was  made  to  Mr.  Lowell  Mason, 
of  the  firm  of  Mason  Bros.,  publishers.  Mr.  Mason  was 
a  neighbour  and  old  friend  of  my  father's,  and  he  took  hold 
of  this  troublesome  and  thankless  piece  of  business  with  a 
16 


242  George  Palmer  Putnam 

keen  personal  interest  and  undoubtedly  did  all  that  any 
man  could  do  under  the  very  difficult  circumstances  to 
realise  from  the  assets,  not  only  enough  to  secure  a  quit- 
tance from  the  creditors,  but  something  over  with  which 
his  friend  Putnam  might  again  resume  business. 

It  was  one  of  the  keenest  of  my  father's  disappointments 
at  the  time,  that  the  magazine,  which  he  had  regarded  as 
a  kind  of  younger  child,  and  which  had  appeared  to  have 
before  it  such  a  promising  career,  should  have  been  over- 
whelmed with  all  the  other  undertakings  of  the  House. 

The  stereotype  plates  of  the  works  of  Washington  Irving, 
which   constituted    (in    connection   with    the   publishing 
rights  in  these  works)  the  most  valuable  item  in  the  assets 
of  the  concern,  were  purchased  from  the  assignee  by  Mr. 
Irving  himself.     When  it  was  known  that  G.  P.  Putnam 
&  Co.  were,  for  the  time  at  least,  likely  to  close  their 
business  operations,   Mr.    Irving  received  a  number  of 
propositions,  from  publishers  in  Boston,  New  York,  and 
Philadelphia,  to  take  over  the  publication  of  these  works. 
Under  some  of  these  proposals,  his  returns  from  the  sales 
would   have   been   more   advantageous    than   had    been 
secured  to  him  under  his  arrangement  with  my  father. 
Irving's  name  possessed  at  that  time  not  only  a  literary  but 
a  commercial  value,  and  its  association  could  be  made 
useful  for  the  list  and  imprint  of  any  publisher.     Pub- 
lishers might,  therefore,  be  willing,  for  the  sake  of  the 
prestige  of  being  Irving's  publishers,  to  make  larger  pay- 
ments for  his  books  than  would  have  seemed  to  be  good 
business  if  considered  simply  with  reference  to  the  actual 
profits  that  could  be  secured  from  the  books  themselves. 
The  author,  having  now  in  his  hands  the  ownership  of  his 
plates,  was  also,  through  this  new  condition,  in  a  more 
advantageous  position  in  regard  to  a  business  arrangement, 
as  he  could  demand,  in  addition  to  the  royalty  for  copy- 
right, a  further  royalty  for  the  use  of  his  plates.     Mr. 


"WasHingfton  Irving  243 

Irving  declined,  however,  all  suggestions  from  other  firms. 
He  took  the  ground,  as  he  said  to  my  father,  that  as  long 
as  there  was  a  Putnam  engaged  in  the  publishing  business, 
his  books  should,  as  far  as  he  was  in  a  position  to  decide 
the  matter,  be  issued  with  the  Putnam  imprint.  He 
recalled  in  this  connection  a  letter  that  he  had  taken  occa- 
sion to  write  to  my  father  in  December  of  1852,  at  a  time 
when  he  had  reason  to  feel  exceptionally  well  pleased  with 
the  results  that  the  young  publisher  had  been  able  to 
secure  for  his  author  during  the  preceding  four  years.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  in  1848  when  my  father  made  a 
proposition  to  Mr.  Irving  for  the  reissue  of  the  earlier 
books  and  for  the  publication  of  such  later  volumes  as 
might  be  prepared,  these  earlier  books  had  been  out  of 
print  for  three  years.  The  Philadelphia  publishers,  in 
whose  hands  they  had  been,  were  unwilling  to  plan  for 
new  editions,  reporting  to  the  author  that  the  demand  for 
the  books  had  ceased  and  that  "the  present  generation 
was  not  interested  in  that  class  of  literature."  No  other 
publishing  concern  had  been  tempted  to  take  up  the  pub- 
lication, and  Mr.  Irving  was  beginning  to  feel  that  his 
career  as  an  author  was  ended.  He  had  reason,  therefore, 
for  satisfaction  on  more  grounds  than  one  when  he  received 
in  1848  my  father's  proposition;  and  four  years-  later  he 
expressed  this  satisfaction  in  the  letter  below  quoted : 

Sunnyside,  Dec.  27,  1852. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Your  parcel  of  books  reached  me  on  Christmas  morning; 
your  letter,  not  being  addressed  to  Dearman,  went  to  Tarry- 
town,  and  did  not  come  to  hand  until  to-day. 

My  nieces  join  with  me  in  thanking  you  for  the  beautiful 
books  you  have  sent  us,  and  you  and  Mrs.  Putnam  for  your 
wishes  for  a  Merry  Christmas  and  a  Happy  New  Year. 

For  my  own  especial  part,  let  me  say  how  sensibly  I  ap- 
preciate the  kind  tone  and  expressions  of  your  letter;  but  as 


244  George  Palmer  Putnam 

to  your  talk  of  obligations  to  me,  I  am  conscious  of  none  that 
have  not  been  fully  counterbalanced  on  your  part ;  and  I  take 
pleasure  in  expressing  the  great  satisfaction  I  have  derived, 
throughout  all  our  intercourse,  from  your  amiable,  obliging, 
and  honourable  conduct.  Indeed,  I  never  had  dealings  with 
any  man,  whether  in  the  way  of  business  or  friendship,  more 
perfectly  free  from  any  alloy.  That  those  dealings  have  been 
profitable  is  mainly  owing  to  your  own  capacity  and  enter- 
prise. You  had  confidence  in  the  continued  value  of  my  writ- 
ings when  had  almost  persuaded  me  they  were  defunct. 

You  called  them  again  into  active  existence,  and  gave  them 
a  circulation  that  has  surprised  even  yourself.  In  rejoicing 
at  their  success,  my  satisfaction  is  doubly  enhanced  by  the 
idea  that  you  share  in  the  benefits  derived  from  it. 

Wishing  you  that  continued  prosperity  in  business  which 
your  upright,  enterprising,  trustful,  and  liberal  mode  of  con- 
ducting it  merits,  and  is  calculated  to  insure ;  and  again  wishing 
for  you  and  yours  a  happy  New  Year, 

I  remain  very  truly  and  heartily 
Your  friend, 

Washington  Irving. 

Geo.  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 

When  Irving  had  completed  his  arrangements  with  the 
assignee,  Mr.  Mason,  for  the  purchase  of  the  plates  of  his 
works,  he  came  to  my  father  and  said:  "Now,  Putnam, 
I  want  you  to  be  the  owner  of  these  plates  for  me."  "Why, 
Mr.  Irving,"  said  my  father,  "I  should  of  course  be  well 
pleased  to  be  able  again  to  own  the  plates,  but  I  have  at 
this  time  no  funds  with  which  to  buy  them."  "That 
makes  no  difference,"  said  Irving;  "I  will  sell  you  the 
plates  and  will  receive  payments  from  you  by  instalments, 
annually  or  otherwise,  as  you  may  find  it  convenient. 
You,  being  the  owner  of  the  plates,  will  then  pay  me  royal- 
ties on  the  sales  at  the  same  rate  as  before.  You  will  be 
able  in  this  way  to  carry  out  the  plans  you  had  in  train  for 
the  completion  of  the  works  in  the  new  uniform  edition, 


^Washington  Irving  245 

and  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  concentrating  your  attention 
on  these  books  to  an  extent  which  was  possibly  not  prac- 
ticable when  you  had  a  number  of  other  undertakings  to 
watch,  you  will  so  far  increase  the  sales  as  to  make  the  new 
arrangement  more  profitable  for  myself  and  sufficiently 
remunerative  for  the  publisher."  In  making  this  propo- 
sition, Irving  was,  as  he  was  perfectly  well  aware,  with  the 
offers  from  the  other  publishers  in  his  pocket,  making  a 
direct  business  sacrifice.  It  is,  however,  quite  possible 
that  in  his  word  concerning  the  advantage  to  himself  of 
having  the  attention  of  his  publisher  concentrated  on  his 
own  books,  he  was  coming  nearer  to  the  truth  than  he 
realised  at  the  time.  The  suggestion  itself  was  merely 
part  of  his  friendly  consideration  for  the  publisher.  It 
proved,  however,  to  be  the  case  that,  in  giving  an  almost 
undivided  attention  during  the  succeeding  two  years  to 
these  books,  in  planning  for  certain  of  them  (more  par- 
ticularly The  Sketch  Book  and  The  Life  of  Washington)  new 
forms,  and  in  pushing  the  sales  in  a  number  of  new  chan- 
nels, it  did  prove  practicable  for  my  father  to  secure  very 
much  larger  annual  results  during  the  two  years  between 
1857  and  1859  (the  year  of  Irving's  death)  than  had  ever 
before  been  realised.  My  father  tried  to  persuade  Irving 
to  accept  a  higher  royalty,  but  on  this  point  the  old  gentle- 
man had  made  up  his  mind.  By  1859,  the  plates  were 
again  fully  under  the  ownership  of  the  publisher,  and  in 
addition  to  the  sales  of  the  works  in  their  completed  form, 
a  very  large  number  of  copies  had  been  brought  into  sale 
of  a  cheap  popular  edition  and  of  the  Darley  illustrated 
edition  of  The  Sketch  Book,  and  of  the  subscription  editions 
of  The  Life  of  Washington,  the  sales  of  which  aggregated 
100,000  sets. 

If  it  had  not  been  for  this  friendly  consideration  on  the 
part  of  his  principal  author,  my  father  would  have  found 
the  difficulty  of  beginning  business  again  after  the  disas- 


246  George  Palmer  Putnam 

trous  season  of  1857  very  considerable  indeed.  The  fact 
that  he  was  to  remain  Irving's  publisher  had  the  result  of 
leaving  in  his  hands  the  books  of  Bayard  Taylor  and  of  one 
or  two  other  authors,  who,  in  the  belief  that  the  business 
was  practically  broken  up,  had  been  making  plans  for 
arrangements  with  other  publishers.  The  offices  of  the 
concern  were  moved  to  less  expensive  quarters  at  506 
Broadway  (and  later  to  532  Broadway),  and  with  renewed 
courage  and  hopefulness  my  father  entered  upon  the  task 
of  rebuilding  the  business. 

The  following  letter  from  a  representative  publisher 
may  be  quoted  as  expressing  the  feeling  of  the  book- trade: 

Philadelphia,  Oct.  3,  1857. 
My  dear  Mr.  Putnam: 

Owing  to  continued  illness  I  have  not  been  able  to  write  to 
you  as  I  had  intended.  In  fact  I  have  been  sick  ever  since  I 
saw  you  last,  and  have  only  been  to  the  city  some  four  or  five 
times  during  that  time. 

It  made  my  heart  glad  to  hear  that  so  liberal  a  spirit  was 
shown  to  you  in  the  day  of  your  great  trial.  I  have  conversed 
with  many  of  the  Trade  and  others  here  and  they  all  express 
their  deep  sympathy  with  you.  Without  flattery,  I  can  say 
that  you  occupy  the  first  position  in  our  trade  as  a  publisher 
and  a  gentleman.  I  only  hope  to  approach  somewhere  near 
to  where  you  are  in  the  hearts  of  all  good  and  worthy  people. 
Mr.  A.  says  he  will  see  "justice  done  you"  in  our  great  work. 

As  soon  as  I  gain  a  little  more  strength  I  shall  be  most  happy 
to  do  all  in  my  power  to  further  your  interests. 

With  continued  faith  and  hope  in  your  future  prosperity 
and  happiness, 

I  remain,  with  much  esteem, 

Your  attached  friend, 

Geo.  W.  Childs. 

The  year  1857  was  marked  by  a  great  revival  of  religious 
interest,  a  revival  which  extended  throughout  the  greater 


The  Revival  of  1857  247 

part  of  the  country,  but  which  showed  particular  strength 
and  influence  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  immediate 
causes  of  religious  revivals  are,  I  judge,  not  easy  to  deter- 
mine, and  must  in  any  case  usually  be  not  a  little  complex 
It  seems  probable,  however,  that  the  widespread  troubles 
and  anxieties  brought  about  during  this  period  of  business 
disaster  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  turning  of  men's 
thoughts  from  things  temporal  to  things  eternal.  Many 
who  had  thought  themselves  to  be  rich  were  reduced  to 
poverty ;  others  who  had  possessed  what  they  had  believed 
to  be  an  assured  independence  found  their  resources  swept 
away  and  were  compelled  to  seek  employment  at  a  time 
when  employment  was  very  difficult  to  find;  while  thou- 
sands of  clerks  and  labourers  were,  through  the  breaking 
down  of  their  employers,  thrown  out  of  work  and  were  at 
a  loss  to  know  where  to  seek  their  bread.  In  such  a  time 
of  darkness  and  trouble,  the  thought  and  hopes  of  men 
were  turned  to  the  Power  above,  from  which  alone  it 
seemed  possible  to  secure  help  or  comfort.  The  ministers 
of  the  city  came  together,  and,  ignoring  denominational 
differences,  organised  prayer-meetings  and  preaching 
meetings  throughout  the  city.  By  a  general  consensus  of 
feeling,  rather  probably  than  through  any  actual  agree- 
ment among  the  managers,  matters  of  doctrine  were,  as  a 
rule,  ignored  and  the  time  of  the  meetings  was  given  to  the 
enforcement  of  the  general  beliefs  which  were  common  to 
all  sects  of  Christianity.  One  of  the  daily  gatherings  of 
business  men,  known  as  the  Fulton  Street  Noonday 
Prayer-meeting,  instituted  in  September,  1857,  has,  I 
believe,  been  kept  in  operation  ever  since.  A  committee 
of  business  men  which  had  at  its  head,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  William  E.  Dodge  (the  first),  made  itself  respons- 
ible for  the  renting  of  the  Fourteenth  Street  Academy  of 
Music,  in  which  on  every  evening  in  the  week  religious 
services  were  held.     The  preaching  was  taken  in  turn  by 


248  George  Palmer  Putnam 

representatives  of  different  denominations,  a  necessary 
restriction  being  that  the  men  selected  for  this  particular 
service  should  have  sufficient  voice-power  to  fill  the  great 
auditorium 

My  father,  who,  with  little  interest  in  creeds  or  in  theo- 
logical doctrines,  was  a  man  of  a  reverential  or  believing 
nature,  felt  himself  impressed,  in  common  with  many  of 
his  business  associates,  with  the  religious  feeling  about 
him.  He  found  himself  interested  in  being  present  at  the 
noonday  prayer-meeting,  and  absorbed  as  he  was  with 
the  discouraging  complications  of  his  business,  he  made 
time  to  remain  in  town  for  some  of  the  evening  services. 
My  grandmother  was,  of  course,  one  of  the  active  workers 
in  the  movement,  and  she  was  naturally  well  pleased  that 
her  son,  for  whose  companionship  in  religious  matters  she 
had  so  long  been  waiting,  should  at  last  be  turning  his  face 
towards  the  Lord.  It  was  during  the  revival  year  that 
the  First  Baptist  Church,  the  Broome  Street  Church,  of 
which  my  grandmother  was  a  member,  accepted  as  its 
pastor  a  young  man  named  Kingman  Nott.  The  full 
name  was  originally  Abner  Kingman,  but  the  Abner  was 
not  retained. 

Since  the  death  of  Dr.  Cone,  nearly  two  years  before, 
the  pulpit  had  been  "in  commission."  Dr.  Cone's  place 
was  not  an  easy  one  to  fill,  and  the  congregation,  ruled  by 
six  very  typical  deacons,  had  the  reputation  of  being  diffi- 
cult and  exacting  in  its  theological  requirements.  The 
selection  as  pastor  of  a  young  man  who  had  no  national 
repute,  and  whose  views  of  Calvinistic  doctrines  were,  to 
say  the  least,  not  as  yet  tested,  was  exceptional,  and  may 
doubtless  be  ascribed  to  the  religious  fervour  of  the  time 
which  had  put  doctrinal  matters  into  the  background. 
Nott  was  the  son  of  a  Baptist  minister  in  the  little  village 
of  Kcnnebunkport,  Maine.  He  had  received  his  training 
in  Rochester,  and  came  to  the  big  Broome  Street  parish 


The  Revival  of  1857  249 

as  his  first  charge.  He  was  a  man  of  most  winning  per- 
sonality. He  impressed  all  with  whom  he  had  to  do  with 
the  spirituality  of  his  nature  and  the  earnestness  of  his 
convictions.  I  should  say  in  recalling  his  teachings,  that 
he  was  not  strong  on  the  intellectual  side.  His  beliefs 
appeared  to  be  restricted  to  certain  larger  tenets  which 
he  held  as  essential,  while  in  the  refinements  of  Calvinistic 
theology  he  was  interested  but  little. 

It  is  probable  that  if  his  ministry  had  lasted  a  little 
longer,  he  would  have  found  himself  under  criticism  from, 
and  in  conflict  with,  the  doctrinal  Calvinists  of  the  First 
Church.  For  the  special  requirements,  however,  of  the 
religious  movement  of  1857,  Nott  was  admirably  fitted, 
and  he  took  up  at  once  for  himself  and  for  his  church  a  full 
measure  of  the  daily  work  of  the  city.  Nott  was  a  most 
effective  street  preacher.  He  was  very  far  indeed  from 
being  a  ranter,  and  his  good  judgment  and  native  refine- 
ment protected  him  from  the  risk  of  the  bathos,  vulgarism, 
or  sentimentality  to  which  not  a  few  good  men,  under  the 
excitement  of  street  preaching,  are  liable.  Nott's  influence 
over  his  hearers  was  gained  not  through  oratorical  efforts 
or  exaggerations,  but  by  earnestness,  simplicity,  and  a 
spiritual  eloquence  that  seemed  at  times  almost  that  of  a 
prophet.  I  remember  particularly  a  sermon  preached  by 
him  on  a  week-day  evening  in  the  Academy  of  Music  on 
"Jesus  and  the  Resurrection."  The  great  building  was 
full  to  the  topmost  gallery.  The  figure  of  the  youthful 
preacher,  the  sole  occupant  of  the  great  stage,  looked  very 
slight,  hardly  adequate  for  the  task;  but  his  beautifully 
modulated  voice  reached  to  the  ears  of  every  occupant  of 
the  great  auditorium,  while  his  words  found  their  way  to 
their  hearts  and  he  held  their  understandings. 

My  father  found  himself  much  attracted  by  the  young 
preacher,  who  became  a  frequent  visitor  at  our  house, 
and  who  evidently  valued  not  a  little  the  friendship  of  the 


250  George  Palmer  Putnam 

older  man  who  was  coming  to  him  for  guidance  and  for 
counsel.  Largely  as  a  result  of  the  intercourse  with  Nott, 
my  father  was,  before  the  close  of  the  year,  accepted  as  a 
member  of  the  First  Baptist  Church.  He  never  became, 
in  any  strict  construction  of  the  term,  a  Calvinist,  but 
he  did  accept  the  essential  truths  of  Christianity  and 
remained  a  believer  until  his  death. 

He  had  always  been  a  believer  in  church  organisation 
as  the  simplest  method  in  which  to  make  effective  the 
brotherhood  of  humanity  and  to  enable  men  to  work  for 
each  other.  It  did  not  seem  to  him  to  be  of  any  special 
importance  with  which  denomination  a  man  connected 
himself,  as  long  as  he  was  ready  to  do  his  share  of  the  work 
for  the  community. 

A  few  years  later,  my  father  found  himself  coming  into 
criticism  with  the  authorities  of  the  First  Church,  on  the 
ground  of  alleged  laxity  in  regard  to  doctrinal  matters. 
He  transferred  his  membership,  therefore,  to  the  Madison 
Avenue  Baptist  Church,  at  that  time  under  the  charge  of 
Dr.  Weston,  and  there  he  remained  until  his  death. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  the  religious  inflvence  that 
came  to  my  father  in  1857  and  the  close  personal  associa- 
tion with  his  spiritually-minded  friend  were  of  very  great 
service  in  enabling  him  to  bear  up  under  the  strain  and  the 
anxieties  of  that  troublesome  year.  It  seems  to  me  certain 
also  that  during  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  the  faith 
and  spiritual  relation  then  gained  helped  to  strengthen 
and  to  sweeten  the  philosophy  of  a  nature  which  had 
always  been  reverent. 

The  friendship  was  unfortunately  to  continue  for  but  a 
short  year.  In  August,  1858,  Kingman  Nott  was  drowned, 
apparently  as  a  result  of  a  fainting  fit  that  came  to  him 
while  swimming.  He  had  never  been  strong  and  a  short 
life  had  been  prophesied  for  him.  During  his  few  years  of 
maturity,  he  had  done  a  great  work  ana  had  been  able  to 


Kingman  Nott  251 

exert  an  exceptional  measure  of  influence,  and  influence 
always  for  good.  Few  men  in  his  generation  and  of  his 
years  (he  was  but  twenty-seven  at  his  death)  have  left  in 
our  community  so  large  or  so  wholesome  a  memory. 


CHAPTER  XII 
DeatH  of  Irving 

IN  November,  1859,  occurred  the  death  of  Washington 
Irving.  I  remember  being  taken  by  my  father  to  the 
funeral  at  the  picturesque  little  house  of  Sunnyside 
in  Irvington.  It  was  a  peaceful  autumnal  day,  and  the 
brown  hillsides  and  broad  expanse  of  the  sunlit  river 
recalled  the  charming  pictures  of  the  Hudson  Valley  as 
given  in  the  legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow  and  in  Wolferfs 
Roost.  The  little  church  of  Sleepy  Hollow  would  not 
hold  the  throngs  of  mourners  who  had  gathered  from  all 
parts  of  the  country. 

The  immediate  result  of  Mr.  Irving's  death,  as  far  as  the 
sale  of  his  books  was  concerned,  was  favourable.  Full 
emphasis  was  given  by  the  Press  to  the  importance  of  the 
work  that  had  been  done  by  the  dead  author,  and  his 
books  were  described  by  these  critical  authorities  as 
American  classics  which  no  library  could  afford  to  be 
without.  This  brought  about  a  very  considerable  increase 
in  the  popular  demand,  and  new  editions  in  various  shapes 
found  ready  sale. 

An  appreciation  of  Irving  written  by  my  father  for  the 
Atlantic,  and  printed  in  November,  i860,  may  conven- 
iently be  inserted  here : 

252 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  IRVING 

BY  HIS  PUBLISHER 

You  are  aware  that  one  of  the  most  interesting  reunions  of 
men  connected  with  literary  pursuits  in  England  is  at  the  annu- 
al dinner  of  the  "Literary  Fund" — the  management  of  which 
has  been  so  often  dissected  of  late  by  Dickens  and  others. 
It  is  a  fund  for  disabled  authors;  and,  like  most  other  Brit- 
ish charities,  requires  to  be  fed  annually  by  a  public  dinner. 
A  notable  occasion  of  this  kind  happened  on  the  nth  of  May, 
1842.  It  was  at  this  that  I  first  met  Mr.  Irving  in  Europe. 
The  president  of  the  festival  was  no  less  than  the  Queen's 
young  husband,  Prince  Albert — his  first  appearance  in  that 
(presidential)  capacity.  His  three  speeches  were  more  than 
respectable — for  a  prince ;  they  were  a  positive  success.  In 
the  course  of  the  evening  we  had  speeches  by  Hallam  and  Lord 
Mahon  for  the  historians ;  Campbell  and  Moore  for  the  poets ; 
Talfourd  for  the  dramatists  and  the  bar;  Sir  Roderick  Mur- 
chison  for  the  savants;  Chevalier  Bunsen  and  Baron  Brunow 
for  the  diplomatists;  G.  P.  R.  James  for  the  novelists;  the 
Bishop  of  Gloucester;  Gaily  Knight  the  antiquary;  and  a 
goodly  sprinkling  of  peers,  not  famed  as  authors.  Edward 
Everett  was  present  as  American  Minister;  and  Washington 
Irving  (then  on  his  way  to  Madrid  in  diplomatic  capacity) 
represented  American  authors.  Such  an  array  of  speakers 
in  a  single  evening  is  rare  indeed,  and  it  was  an  occasion  long 
to  be  remembered. 

The  toasts  and  speeches  were,  of  course,  very  precisely 
arranged  beforehand,  as  etiquette  requires,  I  suppose,  being 
in  the  presence  of  "His  Royal  Highness,"  yet  most  of  them 
were  animated  and  characteristic.  When  "Washington  Irving 
and  American  Literature"  was  propounded  by  the  fugleman 
at  the  elbow  of  H.R.H.,  the  cheering  was  vociferously  hearty 
and  cordial,  and  the  interest  and  curiosity  to  see  and  hear 
Geoffrey  Crayon  seemed  to  be  intense.  His  name  appeared 
to  touch  the  finest  chords  of  genial  sympathy  and  good- will. 
The  other  famous  men  of  the  evening  had  been  listened  to 

253 


254  Georg'e  Palmer  Pvitnam 

with  respect  and  deference,  but  Mr.  Irving's  name  inspired 
genuine  enthusiasm.  We  had  been  listening  to  the  learned 
Hallam,  and  the^  sparkling  Moore — to  the  classic  and  fluent 
author  of  Ion,  and  to  the  "Bard  of  Hope" — to  the  historic 
and  theologic  diplomat  from  Prussia,  and  to  the  stately  re- 
presentative of  the  Czar.  A  dozen  well-prepared  sentiments 
had  been  responded  to  in  as  many  different  speeches.  "The 
Mariners  of  England,"  "And  doth  not  a  meeting  like  this  make 
amends?"  had  been  sung,  to  the  evident  satisfaction  of  the 
authors  of  those  lyrics — (Campbell,  by  the  way,  who  was  near 
my  seat,  had  to  be  "regulated"  in  his  speech  by  his  friend  and 
publisher,  Moxon,  lest  H.R.H.  should  be  scandalised).  And 
now  everybody  was  on  tiptoe  for  the  author  of  Bracebridge 
Hall.  If  his  speech  had  been  proportioned  to  the  cheers  which 
greeted  him,  it  would  have  been  the  longest  of  the  evening. 
When,  therefore,  he  simply  said,  in  his  modest,  beseeching 
manner,  "I  beg  to  return  you  my  very  sincere  thanks,"  his 
brevity  seemed  almost  ungracious  to  those  who  did  n't  know 
that  it  was  physically  impossible  for  him  to  make  a  speech. 
It  was  vexatious  that  routine  had  omitted  from  the  list  of 
speakers  Mr.  Everett,  who  was  at  Irving's  side;  but,  as  diplo- 
mat, the  Prussian  and  Russian  had  precedence,  and  as  Ameri- 
can author,  Irving,  of  course,  was  the  representative  man.  An 
Englishman  near  me  said  to  his  neighbour,  "Brief?"  "Yes, 
but  you  can  tell  the  gentleman  in  the  very  tone  of  his  voice." 
When  I  said  that  Mr.  Irving  could  not  speak  in  public, 
I  had  forgotten  that  he  did  once  get  through  with  a  very  nice 
little  speech  on  such  an  occasion  as  that  just  alluded  to.  It 
was  at  an  entertainment  given,  in  1837,  at  the  old  City  Hotel 
in  New  York,  by  the  New  York  booksellers  to  American 
authors.  Many  of  "the  Trade"  will  remember  the  good 
things  said  on  that  evening,  and  among  them  Mr.  Irving's 
speech  about  Halleck,  and  about  Rogers  the  poet,  as  the 
"friend  of  American  genius."  At  my  request,  he  afterwards 
wrote  out  his  remarks,  which  were  printed  in  the  papers  of 
the  day.  Probably  this  was  his  last,  if  not  his  best  effort  in 
this  line;  for  the  Dickens  Dinner  remarks  were  not  complete- 
In   1845,   Mr.  Irving  came  to  London   from  his  post  at 


Recollections  of  Irving  255 

Madrid,  on  a  short  visit  to  his  friend,  Mr.  McLane,  then 
American  Minister  to  England.  It  was  my  privilege  at  that 
time  to  know  him  more  domestically  than  before.  It  was 
pleasant  to  have  him  at  my  table  at  "Knickerbocker  Cottage." 
With  his  permission,  a  quiet  party  of  four  was  made  up,  the 
others  being  Dr.  Beattie,  the  friend  and  biographer  of  Camp- 
bell; Samuel  Carter  Hall,  the  litterateur,  and  editor  of  the  Art 
Journal;  and  William  Howitt.  Irving  was  much  interested 
in  what  Dr.  Beattie  had  to  tell  about  Campbell,  and  especially 
so  in  Carter  Hall's  stories  of  Moore  and  his  patron,  Lord 
Lansdowne.  Moore,  at  this  time,  was  in  ill-health  and  shut 
up  from  the  world.  I  need  not  attempt  to  quote  the  conversa- 
tion. Irving  had  been  somewhat  intimate  with  Moore  in 
former  days,  and  found  him,  doubtless,  an  entertaining  and 
lively  companion — but  his  replies  to  Hall  about  the  "patron- 
age" of  my  Lord  Lansdowne,  etc.,  indicated  pretty  clearly 
that  he  had  no  sympathy  with  the  small  traits  and  parasitical 
tendencies  of  Moore's  character.  If  there  was  anything 
specially  detestable  to  Irving  and  at  variance  with  his  very 
nature,  it  was  that  self-seeking  deference  to  wealth  and  station 
which  was  so  characteristic  of  the  Irish  poet. 

I  had  hinted  to  one  of  my  guests  that  Mr.  Irving  was  some- 
times "caught  napping"  even  at  the  dinner-table,  so  that  such 
an  event  should  not  occasion  surprise.  The  conversation 
proved  so  interesting  that  I  had  almost  claimed  a  victory, 
when,  lo!  a  slight  lull  in  the  talk  disclosed  the  fact  that  our 
respected  guest  was  nodding.  I  believe  it  was  a  habit  with 
him,  for  many  years,  thus  to  take  "forty  winks "  at  the  dinner- 
table.  Still,  the  conversation  of  that  evening  was  a  rich  treat, 
and  my  English  friends  frequently  thanked  me  afterwards 
for  the  opportunity  of  meeting  "the  man  of  all  others  whom 
they  desired  to  know." 

The  term  of  Mr.  Irving's  contract  with  his  Philadelphia 
publishers  expired  in  1843,  and,  for  five  years,  his  works  re- 
mained in  statu  quo,  no  American  publisher  appearing  to 
think  them  of  sufficient  importance  to  propose  definitely  for 
a  new  edition.     Surprising  as  this  fact  appears  now,  it  is 


256  George  Palmer  Putnam 

actually  true  that  Mr.  Irving  began  to  think  his  works  had 
"rusted  out"  and  were  "defunct" — for  nobody  offered  to 
reproduce  them.  Being,  in  1848,  again  settled  in  New  York, 
and  apparently  able  to  render  suitable  business  attention  to 
the  enterprise,  I  ambitiously  proposed  an  arrangement  to 
publish  Irving's  works.  My  suggestion  was  made  in  a  brief 
note,  written  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment;  but  (what  was 
more  remarkable)  it  was  promptly  accepted  without  the 
change  of  a  single  figure  or  a  single  stipulation.  It  is  sufficient 
to  remark  that  the  number  of  volumes  since  printed  of  these 
works  (including  the  later  ones)  amounts  to  about  eight 
hundred  thousand. 

The  relations  of  friendship — I  cannot  say  intimacy — to 
which  this  arrangement  admitted  me  were  such  as  any  man 
might  have  enjoyed  with  proud  satisfaction.  I  had  always 
too  much  earnest  respect  for  Mr.  Irving  ever  to  claim  familiar 
intimacy  with  him.  He  was  a  man  who  would  unconsciously 
and  quietly  command  deferential  regard  and  consideration; 
for  in  all  his  ways  and  words  there  was  the  atmosphere  of  true 
refinement.  He  was  emphatically  a  gentleman,  in  the  best 
sense  of  that  word.  Never  forbidding  or  morose,  he  was  at 
times  (indeed  always,  when  quite  well)  full  of  genial  humour 
— sometimes  overflowing  with  fun.  But  I  need  not,  here  at 
least,  attempt  to  sum  up  his  characteristics. 

That  "Sunnyside"  home  was  too  inviting  to  those  who 
were  privileged  there  to  allow  any  proper  opportunity  for  a 
visit  to  pass  unimproved.  Indeed,  it  became  so  attractive 
to  strangers  and  lion-hunters,  that  some  of  those  whose  entree 
was  quite  legitimate  and  acceptable,  refrained,  especially 
during  the  last  two  years,  from  adding  to  the  heavy  tax 
which  casual  visitors  began  to  levy  upon  the  quiet  hours  of 
the  host.  Ten  years  ago,  when  Mr.  Irving  was  in  his  best 
estate  of  health  and  spirits,  when  his  mood  was  of  the  sun- 
niest, and  Wolfert's  Roost  was  in  the  springtime  of  its  charms, 
it  was  my  fortune  to  pass  a  few  days  there  with  my  wife.  Mr. 
Irving  himself  drove  a  snug  pair  of  ponies  down  to  the  steam- 
boat to  meet  us — (for,  even  then,  Thackeray's  "one  old  horse" 
was  not  the  only  resource  in  the  Sunnyside  stables).     The 


Recollections  of  Irving  257 

drive  of  two  miles  from  Tarrytown  to  that  delicious  lane 
which  leads  to  the  Roost — who  does  not  know  all  that,  and 
how  charming  it  is?  Five  hundred  descriptions  of  the  Tappan 
Zee  and  the  region  round  about  have  not  exhausted  it.  The 
modest  cottage,  almost  buried  under  the  luxuriant  Melrose 
ivy,  was  then  just  made  what  it  is — a  picturesque  and  com- 
fortable retreat  for  a  man  of  tastes  and  habits  like  those  of 
Geoffrey  Crayon — snug  and  modest,  but  yet,  with  all  its 
surroundings,  a  fit  residence  for  a  gentleman  who  had  means 
to  make  everything  suitable  as  well  as  handsome  about  him. 
Of  this  a  word  anon. 

I  do  not  presume  to  write  of  the  home  details  of  Sunnyside, 
further  than  to  say  that  this  delightful  visit  of  three  or  four 
days  gave  us  the  impression  that  Mr.  Irving's  element  seemed 
to  be  at  home,  as  head  of  the  family.  He  took  us  for  a  stroll 
over  the  grounds — some  twenty  acres  of  wood  and  dell,  with 
babbling  brooks — pointing  out  innumerable  trees  which  he 
had  planted  with  his  own  hands,  and  telling  us  anecdotes  and 
reminiscences  of  his  early  life:  of  his  being  taken  in  the  Medi- 
terranean by  pirates;  of  his  standing  on  the  pier  at  Messina, 
in  Sicily,  and  looking  at  Nelson's  fleet  sweeping  by  on  its  way 
to  the  Battle  of  Trafalgar;  of  his  failure  to  see  the  interior  of 
Milan  Cathedral,  because  it  was  being  decorated  for  the  coro- 
nation of  the  first  Napoleon ;  of  his  adventures  in  Rome  with 
Allston,  and  how  near  Geoffrey  Crayon  came  to  being  an  artist ; 
of  Talleyrand,  and  many  other  celebrities;  and  of  incidents 
which  seemed  to  take  us  back  to  a  former  generation.  Often 
at  this  and  subsequent  visits  I  ventured  to  suggest  (not  pro- 
fessionally), after  some  of  these  reminiscences,  "I  hope  you 
have  taken  time  to  make  a  note  of  these";  but  the  oracle 
nodded  a  sort  of  humourous  "No."  A  drive  to  Sleepy 
Hollow — Mr.  Irving  again  managing  the  ponies  himself — 
crowned  our  visit;  and  with  such  a  coachman  and  guide,  in 
such  regions,  we  were  not  altogether  unable  to  appreciate  the 
excursion. 

You  are  aware  that  in  Knickerbocker,  especially,  Mr.  Irving 
made  copious  revisions  and  additions,  when  the  new  edition 
17 


258  George  Palmer  Putnam 

was  published  in  1848.  The  original  edition  (1809)  was  de- 
dicated with  mock  gravity  to  the  New  York  Historical  Society ; 
and  the  preface  to  the  revision  explains  the  origin  and  intent 
of  the  work.  Probably  some  of  the  more  liberal-minded 
grandsons  of  Holland  were  somewhat  unappreciative  of  the 
precise  scope  of  the  author's  genius  and  the  bent  of  his  humour ; 
but  if  this  "veritable  history"  really  elicited  any  "doubts" 
or  any  hostility,  at  the  time,  such  misapprehension  has  doubt- 
less been  long  since  removed.  It  has  often  been  remarked 
that  Diedrich  Knickerbocker  had  really  enlisted  more  practical 
interest  in  the  early  annals  of  his  native  State  than  all  other 
historians  together,  down  to  his  time.  But  for  him  we  might 
never  have  had  an  O'Callaghan  or  a  Brodhead. 

The  Sketch  Book  also  received  considerable  new  matter  in 
the  revised  edition ;  and  the  story,  in  the  preface,  of  the  author's 
connection  with  Scott  and  with  Murray  added  new  interest 
to  the  volume,  which  has  always  been  the  favourite  with  the 
public.  You  will  remember  Mr.  Bryant's  remark  about  the 
change  in  the  tone  of  Mr.  Irving's  temperament  shown  in 
this  work  as  contrasted  with  Knickerbocker,  and  the  probable 
cause  of  this  change.  Mr.  Bryant's  very  delicate  and  judi- 
cious reference  to  the  fact  of  Mr.  Irving's  early  engagement 
was  undoubtedly  correct.  A  miniature  of  a  young  lady,  in- 
tellectual, refined,  and  beautiful,  was  handed  me  one  day  by 
Mr.  Irving,  with  the  request  that  I  would  have  a  slight  injury 
repaired  by  an  artist  and  a  new  case  made  for  it,  the  old  one 
being  actually  worn  out  by  much  use.  The  painting  (on  ivory) 
was  exquisitely  fine.  When  I  returned  it  to  him  in  a  suitable 
velvet  case,  he  took  it  to  a  quiet  corner  and  looked  intently 
on  the  face  for  some  minutes,  apparently  unobserved,  his 
tears  falling  freely  on  the  glass  as  he  gazed.  That  this  was  a 
miniature  of  the  lady — Miss  Hoffman,  a  sister  of  Ogden 
Hoffman — it  is  not  now,  perhaps,  indelicate  to  surmise.  It 
is  for  a  poet  to  characterise  the  nature  of  an  attachment  so 
loyal,  so  fresh,  and  so  fragrant  forty  years  after  death  had 
snatched  away  the  mortal  part  of  the  object  of  affection. 

During  one  of  his  visits  to  the  city,  Mr.  Irving  suddenly 
asked  if  I  could  give  him  a  bed  at  my  house  on  Staten  Island. 


Recollections  of  Irving  259 

I  could.  So  we  had  a  nice  chatty  evening,  and  the  next 
morning  we  took  him  on  a  charming  drive  over  the  hills  of 
Staten  Island.  He  seemed  to  enjoy  it  highly,  for  he  had  not 
been  there,  I  believe,  since  he  was  stationed  there  in  a  military 
capacity,  during  the  War  of  181 2,  as  aid  of  Governor  Tompkins. 
He  gave  us  a  humourous  account  of  some  of  his  equestrian 
performances,  and  those  of  the  Governor,  while  on  duty  at  the 
island;  but  neither  his  valour  nor  the  Governor's  was  tested 
by  any  actual  contact  with  the  enemy. 

In  facility  of  composition,  Mr.  Irving,  I  believe,  was  pecu- 
liarly influenced  by  "moods."  When  in  his  usual  good  health, 
and  the  spirit  was  on  him,  he  wrote  very  rapidly;  but  at  other 
times  composition  was  an  irksome  task,  or  even  an  impossible 
one.  Dr.  Peters  says  he  frequently  rose  from  his  bed  in  the 
night  and  wrote  for  hours  together.  Then  again  he  would 
not  touch  his  pen  for  weeks.  I  believe  his  most  rapidly  written 
work  was  the  one  often  pronounced  his  most  spirited  one,  and 
a  model  as  a  biography,  The  Life  of  Goldsmith.  Sitting  at  my 
desk  one  day,  he  was  looking  at  Forster's  clever  work,  which 
I  proposed  to  reprint.  He  remarked  that  it  was  a  favourite 
theme  of  his,  and  he  had  half  a  mind  to  pursue  it,  and  extend 
into  a  volume  a  sketch  he  had  once  made  for  an  edition  of 
Goldsmith's  works.  I  expressed  a  hope  that  he  would  do  so, 
and  within  sixty  days  the  first  sheets  of  Irving's  Goldsmith 
were  in  the  printer's  hands.  The  press  (as  he  says)  was 
"dogging  at  his  heels,"  for  in  two  or  three  weeks  the  volume 
was  published. 

Visiting  London  shortly  after  The  Life  of  Mahomet  was  pre- 
pared for  the  press,  I  arranged  with  Mr.  Murray,  on  the 
author's  behalf,  for  an  English  edition  of  Mahomet,  Goldsmith, 
etc.,  and  took  a  request  from  Mr.  Irving  to  his  old  friend 
Leslie,  that  he  would  make  a  true  sketch  of  the  venerable 
Diedrich  Knickerbocker.  Mr.  Irving  insisted  that  the  great 
historian  of  the  Manhattoes  was  not  the  vulgar  old  fellow  they 
would  keep  putting  on  the  omnibuses  and  ice-carts;  but  that, 
though  quaint  and  old-fashioned,  he  was  still  of  gentle  blood. 
Leslie's  sketches,  however  (he  made  two),  did  not  hit  the 
mark  exactly;  Mr.  Irving  liked  Darley's  better. 


260  Georg'e  Palmer  Pxitnam 

Among  the  briefer  visits  to  Sunnysidc  which  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  enjoy  was  one  with  the  estimable  compiler  of  The 
Dictionary  of  Authors.  Mr.  Irving's  amiable  and  hospitable 
nature  prompted  him  always  to  welcome  visitors  so  kindly 
that  no  one,  however  dull,  and  however  uncertain  his  claims, 
would  fail  to  be  pleased  with  his  visit.  But  when  the  genial 
host  was  in  good  health  and  in  his  best  moods,  and  the  visitor 
had  any  magnetism  in  his  composition,  when  he  found,  in 
short,  a  kindred  spirit,  his  talk  was  of  the  choicest.  Of  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  especially,  he  would  tell  us  much  that  was 
interesting.  Probably  no  two  writers  ever  appreciated  each 
other  more  heartily  than  Scott  and  Irving.  The  sterling  good 
sense,  and  quiet,  yet  rich,  humour  of  Scott,  as  well  as  his  liter- 
ary tastes  and  wonderful  fund  of  legendary  lore,  would  find 
no  more  intelligent  and  discriminating  admirer  than  Irving; 
while  the  rollicking  fun  of  the  veritable  Diedrich  and  the  deli- 
cate fancy  and  pathos  of  Crayon  were  doubtless  unaffectedly 
enjoyed  by  the  great  Scotsman.  I  wish  I  could  tell  you 
accurately  one  half  of  the  anecdotes  which  were  so  pleasantly 
related  during  those  various  brief  visits  at  "the  Cottage"; 
but  I  did  not  go  there  to  take  notes,  and  it  is  wicked  to  spoil 
good  stories  by  misquotation.  One  story,  however,  I  may 
venture  to  repeat. 

You  remember  how  the  author  of  The  Pleasures  of  Hope 
was  once  hospitably  entertained  by  worthy  people,  under  the 
supposition  that  he  was  the  excellent  missionary  Campbell, 
just  returned  from  Africa;  and  how  the  massive  man  of 
state,  Daniel  Webster,  had  repeated  occasion,  in  England, 
to  disclaim  honours  meant  for  Noah,  the  man  of  words.  Mr. 
Irving  told,  with  great  glee,  a  little  story  against  himself, 
illustrating  these  uncertainties  of  distant  fame.  Making  a 
small  purchase  at  a  shop  in  England,  not  long  after  his  second 
or  third  work  had  given  currency  to  his  name,  he  gave  his 
address  ("Mr.  Irving,  Number,"  etc.)  for  the  parcel  to  be 
sent  to  his  lodgings.  The  salesman's  face  brightened:  "Is 
it  possible,"  said  he,  "that  I  have  the  pleasure  of  serving  Mr. 
Irving?"  The  question,  and  the  manner  of  it,  indicated  pro- 
found respect  and  admiration.     A  modest  and  smiling  acknow- 


Recollections  of  Irving  261 

ledgment  was  inevitable.  A  few  more  remarks  indicated 
still  more  deferential  interest  on  the  part  of  the  man  of  tape ; 
and  then  another  question,  about  Mr.  Irving's  "  latest  work," 
revealed  the  pleasant  fact  that  he  was  addressed  as  the  famous 
Edward  Irving,  of  the  Scotch  Church — the  man  of  divers 
tongues.  The  very  existence  of  the  Sketch  Book  was  prob- 
ably unknown  to  his  intelligent  admirer.  "All  I  could  do," 
added  Mr.  Crayon,  with  that  rich  twinkle  in  his  eye, — "all 
I  could  do  was  to  take  my  tail  between  my  legs  and  slink  away 
in  the  smallest  possible  compass." 

A  word  more  about  Mr.  Irving's  manner  of  life.  The  im- 
pression given  by  Thackeray,  in  his  notice  (genial  enough, 
and  well  meant,  doubtless)  of  Irving's  death,  is  absurdly  in- 
accurate. His  picture  of  the  "one  old  horse,"  the  plain  little 
house,  etc.,  would  lead  one  to  imagine  Mr.  Irving  a  weak, 
good-natured  old  man,  amiably,  but  parsimoniously,  saving 
up  his  pennies  for  his  "eleven  nieces"  (!),  and  to  this  end 
stinting  himself,  among  other  ways,  to  "  a  single  glass  of  wine," 
etc.  Mr.  Thackeray's  notions  of  style  and  state  and  liveried 
retinues  are  probably  not  entirely  un-English,  notwithstanding 
he  wields  so  sharp  a  pen  against  England's  snobs;  and  he  may 
naturally  have  looked  for  more  display  of  greatness  at  the 
residence  of  an  ex-Minister.  But  he  could  scarcely  appre- 
ciate that  simple  dignity  and  solid  comfort,  that  unobtrusive 
fitness,  which  belonged  to  Mr.  Irving's  home  arrangements. 
There  were  no  flunkies  in  gold  and  scarlet;  but  there  were 
four  or  five  good  horses  in  the  stable,  and  as  many  suitable 
carriages.  Everything  in  the  cottage  was  peculiarly  and 
comfortably  elegant,  without  the  least  pretension.  As  to  the 
"single  glass  of  wine,"  Mr.  Irving,  never  a  professed  teeto- 
taller, was  always  temperate  on  instinct  both  in  eating  and 
drinking;  and  in  his  last  two  years  I  believe  he  did  not  taste 
wine  at  all.  In  all  financial  matters,  Mr.  Irving's  providence 
and  preciseness  were  worthy  of  imitation  by  all  professional 
literary  men;  but  with  exactness  and  punctuality  he  united 
a  liberal  disposition  to  make  a  suitable  use  of  money,  and  to 
have  all  around  him  comfortable  and  appropriate.  Knowing 
that  he  could  leave  a  handsome  independence  for  those  nearest 


262  George  Palmer  Putnam 

to  him,  he  had  no  occasion  for  any  such  anxious  care  as  Mr. 
Thackeray  intimates. 

Thackeray  had  been  invited  to  Yonkers  to  give  his  lecture 
on  "Charity  and  Humour."  At  this  "Ancient  Dorp"  he  was 
the  guest  of  Cozzens,  and  I  had  the  honour  of  accompanying 
the  greater  and  lesser  humourist  in  a  drive  to  Sunnyside,  nine 
miles.  (This  call  of  an  hour,  by  the  way,  was  Thackeray's 
only  glimpse  of  the  place  he  described.)  The  interview  was 
in  every  way  interesting.  Mr.  Irving  produced  a  pair  of 
antiquated  spectacles,  which  had  belonged  to  Washington, 
and  "Major  Pendennis"  tried  them  on  with  evident  reverence. 
The  hour  was  well  filled  with  rapid,  pleasant  chat;  but  no 
profound  analysis  of  the  characteristics  of  wit  and  humour 
was  elicited  either  from  the  Stout  Gentleman  or  from  Vanity 
Fair.  Mr.  Irving  went  down  to  Yonkers  to  hear  Thackeray's 
lecture  in  the  evening,  after  we  had  all  had  a  slice  of  bear  at 
Mr.  Sparrowgrass's,  to  say  nothing  of  sundry  other  courses, 
with  a  slight  thread  of  conversation  between.  At  the  lecture, 
he  was  so  startled  by  the  eulogistic  presentation  of  the  lecturer 
to  the  audience,  by  the  excellent  chief  of  the  committee,  that 
I  believe  he  did  not  once  nod  during  the  evening.  We  were, 
of  course,  proud  to  have  as  our  own  guest  for  the  night  such 
an  embodiment  of  "Charity  and  Humour"  as  Mr.  Thackeray 
saw  in  the  front  bench  before  him,  but  whom  he  considerately 
spared  from  holding  up  as  an  illustration  of  his  subject. 

Charity,  indeed,  practical  "good-will  toward  men,"  was  an 
essential  part  of  Mr.  Irving's  Christianity — and  in  this  Chris- 
tian virtue  he  was  sometimes  severely  tested.  Nothing  was 
more  irksome  to  him  than  to  be  compelled  to  endure  calls  of 
mere  curiosity,  or  to  answer  letters  cither  of  fulsome  eulogy 
of  himself,  or  asking  for  his  eulogy  of  the  MSS.  or  new  work 
of  the  correspondent.  Some  letters  of  that  kind  he  probably 
never  did  answer.  Few  had  any  idea  of  the  fagging  task 
they  imposed  on  the  distinguished  victim.  He  would  worry 
and  fret  over  it  trebly  in  anticipation,  and  the  actual  labour 
itself  was  to  him  probably  ten  times  as  irksome  as  it  would  be 
to  most  others.  Yet  it  would  be  curious  to  know  how  many 
letters  of  suggestion  and  encouragement  he  actually  did  write 


Recollections  of  Irving  263 

in  reply  to  solicitations  from  young  authors  for  his  criticism 
and  advice,  and  his  recommendation,  or,  perhaps,  his  pecuni- 
ary aid.  Always  disposed  to  find  merit,  even  where  any  stray 
grains  of  the  article  lay  buried  in  rubbish,  he  would  amiably 
say  the  utmost  that  could  justly  be  said  in  favour  of  "strug- 
gling genius."  Sometimes  his  readiness  to  aid  meritorious 
young  authors  into  profitable  publicity  was  shamefully  abused 
— as  in  the  case  of  Maitland,  an  Englishman,  who  deliberately 
forged  an  absurdly  distorted  paraphrase  of  a  note  of  Mr. 
Irving's,  besides  other  disreputable  use  of  the  signature  which 
he  had  enticed  from  him  in  answer  to  urgent  appeals.  But 
these  were  among  the  penalties  of  honourable  fame  and  in- 
fluence which  he  might  naturally  expect  to  pay.  The  sunny 
aspect  on  the  "even  tenor  of  his  way"  still  prevailed;  and 
until  the  hand  of  disease  reached  him  in  the  last  year  of  his 
life,  very  few  probably  enjoyed  a  more  tranquil  and  unruffled 
existence. 

It  became  almost  a  proverb  that  Mr.  Irving  was  a  nearly 
solitary  instance  of  a  long  literary  career  (half  a  century)  un- 
touched by  even  a  breath  of  ill-will  or  jealousy  on  the  part  of 
a  brother-author.  The  annals  of  the  genus  irritabile  scarcely 
show  a  parallel  to  such  a  career.  The  most  prominent  Ameri- 
can contemporary  of  Mr.  Irving  in  imaginative  literature 
was,  I  suppose,  Fenimore  Cooper,  whose  genius  raised  the 
American  name  in  Europe  more  effectively  even  than  Irving's , 
at  least  on  the  Continent.  Cooper  had  a  right  to  claim  respect 
and  admiration,  if  not  affection,  from  his  countrymen,  for  his 
brilliant  creations  and  his  solid  services  to  American  literature; 
and  he  knew  it.  But,  as  we  all  know — for  it  was  patent — 
when  he  returned  from  Europe,  after  sending  his  '  'Letters  to 
my  Countrymen,'"  and  gave  us  Home  as  Found,  his  reception 
was  much  less  marked  with  warmth  and  enthusiasm  than  was 
Mr.  Irving's;  and  while  he  professed  indifference  to  all  such 
whims  of  popular  regard,  yet  he  evidently  brooded  a  little 
over  the  relative  amount  of  public  attention  extended  to  his 
brother-author.  At  any  rate,  he  persistently  kept  aloof  from 
Mr.  Irving  for  many  years;  and  not  infrequently  discoursed, 
in  his  rather  authoritative  manner,  about  the  humbuggery  of 


264  Georg'e  Palmer  Pvitnam 

success  in  this  country,  as  exhibited  in  some  shining  instances 
of  popular  and  official  favour.  With  great  admiration  for 
Cooper,  whose  national  services  were  never  recognised  as  they 
deserved  to  be,  I  trust  no  injustice  is  involved  in  the  above 
suggestion,  which  I  make  somewhat  presumptuously — espe- 
cially as  Mr.  Irving  more  than  once  spoke  to  me  in  terms  of 
strong  admiration  of  the  works  and  genius  of  Cooper,  and 
regretted  that  the  great  novelist  seemed  to  cherish  some  un- 
pleasant feeling  towards  him.  One  day,  some  time  after  I 
had  commenced  a  library  edition  of  Cooper's  best  works,  and 
while  Irving's  were  in  course  of  publication  in  companionship, 
Mr.  Irving  was  sitting  at  my  desk,  with  his  back  to  the  door, 
when  Mr.  Cooper  came  in  (a  little  bustlingly,  as  usual),  and 
stood  at  the  office  entrance,  talking.  Mr.  Irving  did  not  turn 
(for  obvious  reasons),  and  Cooper  did  not  see  him.  Remem- 
bering his  "Mr.  Sharp,  Mr.  Blunt, — Mr.  Blunt,  Mr.  Sharp," 
I  had  acquired  caution  as  to  introductions  without  mutual 
consent ;  but  with  a  brief  thought  of  how  matters  stood  (they 
had  not  met  for  several  years),  and  a  sort  of  instinct  that 
reduced  the  real  difference  between  the  parties  to  a  baseless 
fabric  of  misapprehension,  I  stoutly  obeyed  the  impulse  of 
the  moment,  and  simply  said,  "Mr.  Cooper,  here  is  Mr.  Irving." 
The  latter  turned, — Cooper  held  out  his  hand  cordially, 
dashed  at  once  into  an  animated  conversation,  took  a  chair, 
and,  to  my  surprise  and  delight,  the  two  authors  sat  for  an 
hour,  chatting  in  their  best  manner  about  almost  every  topic 
of  the  day  and  some  of  former  days.  They  parted  with  cordial 
good  wishes,  and  Mr.  Irving  afterwards  frequently  alluded  to 
the  incident  as  being  a  very  great  gratification  to  him.  He 
may  have  recalled  it  with  new  satisfaction,  when,  not  many 
months  afterwards,  he  sat  on  the  platform  at  the  "Cooper 
Commemoration,"  and  joined  in  Bryant's  tribute  to  the  genius 
of  the  departed  novelist. 

Mr.  Irving  was  never  a  systematic  collector  of  books,  and 
his  little  library  at  Sunnyside  might  have  disappointed  those 
who  would  expect  to  see  there  rich  shelves  of  choice  editions, 
and  a  full  array  of  all  the  favourite  authors  among  whom  such 


Recollections  of  Irving  265 

a  writer  would  delight  to  revel.  Some  rather  antiquated 
tomes  in  Spanish;  indifferent  sets  of  Calderon  and  Cervantes, 
and  of  some  modern  French  and  German  authors, — a  presenta- 
tion set  of  Cadell's  Waverley,  as  well  as  that  more  recent  and 
elegant  emanation  from  the  classic  press  of  Houghton;  a 
moderate  amount  of  home-tools  for  his  Life  of  Washington 
(rarer  materials  were  consulted  in  the  town  libraries  and  at 
Washington) ;  and  the  remainder  of  his  books  were  evidently 
a  haphazard  collection,  many  coming  from  the  authors,  with 
their  respects,  and  thus  sometimes  costing  the  recipient  their 
full  (intrinsic)  value  in  writing  a  letter  of  acknowledgment. 

The  little  apartment  had,  nevertheless,  become  somewhat 
overcrowded,  and  a  suggestion  for  a  general  renovation  and 
pruning  seemed  to  be  gladly  accepted, — so  I  went  up  and 
passed  the  night  there  for  that  purpose.  Mr.  Irving,  in  his 
easy-chair  in  the  sitting-room,  after  dinner,  was  quite  content 
to  have  me  range  at  large  in  the  library  and  to  let  me  discard 
all  the  "lumber"  as  I  pleased;  so  I  turned  out  some  hundred 
volumes  of  ^wclassic  superfluity,  and  then  called  him  in  from 
his  nap  to  approve  or  veto  my  proceedings.  As  he  sat  by, 
while  I  rapidly  reported  the  candidates  for  exclusion,  and  he 
nodded  assent,  or  as,  here  and  there,  he  would  interpose  with 
"No,  no,  not  that"  and  an  anecdote  or  reminiscence  would 
come  in  as  a  reason  against  the  dismissal  of  the  book  in  my 
hand,  I  could  not  help  suggesting  the  scene  in  Don  Quixote's 
library,  when  the  priest  and  the  barber  entered  upon  their 
scrutiny  of  its  contents.  Mr.  Irving  seemed  to  be  highly 
amused  with  this  pruning  process,  and  his  running  com- 
mentary on  my  "estimates  of  value"  in  weighing  his  literary 
collections  was  richly  entertaining. 

Observing  that  his  library  table  was  somewhat  antiquated 
and  inadequate,  I  persuaded  him  to  let  me  make  him  a  present 
of  a  new  one,  with  the  modern  conveniences  of  drawers  and 
snug  corners  for  keeping  his  stray  papers.  When  I  sent  him 
such  a  one,  my  stipulation  for  the  return  of  the  old  one  as  a 
present  to  me  was  pleasantly  granted.  This  relic  was  of  no 
great  intrinsic  value ;  but,  as  he  had  written  on  this  table  many 
of  his  later  works,  including  Mahomet,  Goldsmith,   Wolfert's 


266  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Roost,  and  Washington,  I  prize  it,  of  course,  as  one  of  the 
most  interesting  mementos  of  Sunnyside. 

As  an  illustration  of  habit,  it  may  be  added  that,  some  time 
after  the  new  table  had  been  installed,  I  was  sitting  with  him 
in  the  library,  when  he  searched  long  and  fruitlessly  for  some 
paper  which  had  been  "so  very  carefully  stowed  away  in  some 
very  safe  drawer"  that  it  was  not  to  be  found,  and  the  search 
ended  in  a  sort  of  half-humourous,  half-earnest  denuncia- 
tion of  all  "modern  conveniences";  the  simple  old  table,  with 
its  primitive  facilities,  was,  after  all,  worth  a  dozen  of  these 
elegant  contrivances  for  memory-saving  and  neatness. 

One  rather  curious  characteristic  of  Mr.  Irving  was  excessive, 
unaffected  modesty  and  distrust  of  himself  and  of  his  own 
writings.  Considering  how  many  a  debutant  in  letters,  not 
yet  out  of  his  teens,  is  so  demonstratively  self-confident  as 
to  the  prospective  effect  of  his  genius  on  an  expectant  and 
admiring  world,  it  was  always  remarkable  to  hear  a  veteran, 
whose  fame  for  half  a  century  had  been  cosmopolitan,  express- 
ing the  most  timid  doubts  as  to  his  latest  compositions,  and 
fearing  they  were  unequal  to  their  position — so  unwilling, 
too,  to  occupy  an  inch  of  ground  to  which  any  other  writer 
might  properly  lay  claim.  Mr.  Irving  had  planned  and  made 
some  progress  in  a  work  on  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  when  he 
learned  of  Mr.  Prescott's  intentions,  and  promptly  laid  his 
project  aside.  His  Life  of  Washington,  originating  more  than 
thirty  years  ago,  was  repeatedly  abandoned,  as  the  successive 
works  of  Mr.  Sparks,  Mr.  Paulding,  and  others  appeared; 
and  though  he  was  subsequently  induced  to  proceed  with  his 
long-considered  plan  of  a  more  dramatic  and  picturesque 
narrative  from  a  new  point  of  view,  yet  he  was  more  than  once 
inclined  to  put  his  MS.  into  the  fire,  in  the  apprehension  that 
the  subject  had  been  worn  threadbare  by  the  various  compila- 
tions which  were  constantly  coming  out.  When  he  ventured 
his  first  volume,  the  cordial  and  appreciative  reception 
promptly  accorded  to  it  surprised  as  much  as  it  cheered  and 
pleased  him;  for  though  he  despised  hollow  flattery,  no  young 
writer  was  more  warmly  sensitive  than  he  to  all  discriminating, 


Recollections  of  Irving  267 

competent,  and  honest  applause  or  criticism.  When  Wolf  erf  s 
Roost  was  published  (I  had  to  entice  the  papers  of  that  volume 
from  his  drawers,  for  I  doubt  whether  he  would  have  col- 
lected them  himself),  I  saw  him  affected  actually  to  tears  on 
reading  some  of  the  hearty  and  well- written  personal  tributes 
which  that  volume  called  forth.  But  though  every  volume 
was  received  in  this  spirit  by  the  Press  and  the  public,  he  was 
to  the  last  apprehensive  of  failure,  until  a  trustworthy  verdict 
should  again  reassure  him.  The  very  last  volume  of  his 
works  (the  fifth  of  Washington)  was  thus  timidly  permitted 
to  be  launched;  and  I  remember  well  his  expression  of  relief 
and  satisfaction  when  he  said  that  Mr.  Bancroft,  Professor 
Felton,  and  Mr.  Duyckinck  had  been  the  first  to  assure  him 
the  volume  was  all  that  it  should  be.  His  task  on  this  volume 
had  perhaps  extended  beyond  the  period  of  his  robust  health, 
— it  had  fagged  him — but  he  had  been  spared  to  write  every 
line  of  it  with  his  own  hand,  and  my  own  copy  is  enriched  by 
the  autograph  of  his  valedictory. 

To  refer,  however  briefly,  to  Mr.  Irving's  politics  or  religion, 
even  if  I  had  intimate  knowledge  of  both  (which  assuredly  I 
had  not),  would  be,  perhaps,  to  overstep  decorous  limits.  It 
may,  however,  properly  be  mentioned  that,  in  the  face  of  all 
inherent  probabilities  as  to  his  comfortable  conservatism,  and 
his  earnest  instincts  in  favour  of  fraternal  conciliation  and 
justice  (which  was  as  marked  a  quality  in  him  as  in  the  great 
man  whom  he  so  faithfully  portrayed),  in  spite  of  all  the  con- 
siderations urged  by  timid  gentlemen  of  the  old  school  in 
favour  of  Fillmore  and  the  status  quo,  he  voted  in  1856,  as  he 
told  me,  for  Fremont.  In  speaking  of  the  candidates  then 
in  the  field,  he  said  of  Fremont  that  his  comparative  youth 
and  inexperience  in  party  politics  were  points  in  his  favour; 
for  he  thought  the  condition  of  the  country  called  for  a  man  of 
nerve  and  energy,  one  in  his  prime,  and  unfettered  by  party 
traditions  and  bargains  for  the  "  spoils."  His  characterisation 
of  a  more  experienced  functionary,  who  had  once  served 
in  the  State  Department,  was  more  severe  than  I  ever 
heard   from   him  of   any  other   person;  and  severity  from 


268  George  Palmer  Putnam 

a  man  of  his  judicious  and  kindly  impulses  had  a  meaning 
in  it. 

Favoured  once  with  a  quiet  Sunday  at  "the  Cottage," 
there  was,  of  course,  a  seat  for  us  all  in  the  family-pew  at 
Christ  Church  in  the  village  (Tarrytown).  Mr.  Irving's  official 
station  as  churchwarden  was  indicated  by  the  ex-ambassador's 
meek  and  decorous  presentation  of  the  plate  for  the  silver  and 
copper  offerings  of  the  parishioners.  At  subsequent  successive 
meetings  of  the  General  (State)  Convention  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  (to  which  I  had  been  delegated  from  a  little 
parish  on  Staten  Island),  the  names  of  Washington  Irving  and 
Fenimore  Cooper  were  both  recorded — the  latter  representing 
Christ  Church,  Cooperstown.  Mr.  Irving  for  several  years 
served  in  this  capacity,  and  as  one  of  the  Missionary  Committee 
of  the  convention.  His  name  was  naturally  sought  as  honour- 
ing any  organisation.  He  was  the  last  person  to  be  demon- 
strative or  conspicuous  either  as  to  his  faith  or  his  works;  but 
no  disciple  of  Christ,  perhaps,  felt  more  devoutly  than  he  did 
the  reverential  aspiration  of  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  men." 

Passing  a  print  window  in  Broadway  one  day,  his  eye  rested 
on  the  beautiful  engraving  of  Chris  tus  Consolator .  He  stopped 
and  looked  at  it  intently  for  some  minutes,  evidently  much 
affected  by  the  genuine  inspiration  of  the  artist  in  this  remark- 
able representation  of  the  Saviour  as  the  consoler  of  sorrow- 
stricken  humanity.  His  tears  fell  freely.  "  Pray  get  me  that 
print,"  said  he;  "I  must  have  it  framed  for  my  sitting-room." 
When  he  examined  it  more  closely  and  found  the  artist's  name, 
"It  's  by  my  old  friend  Ary  Scheffer!"  said  he,  remarking, 
further,  that  he  had  known  Scheffer  intimately,  and  knew  him 
to  be  a  true  artist,  but  had  not  expected  from  him  anything 
so  excellent  as  this.  I  afterwards  sent  him  the  companion. 
Christus  Remunerator ;  and  the  pair  remained  his  daily  com- 
panions till  the  day  of  his  death.  To  me.the  picture  of  Irving . 
amid  the  noise  and  bustle  of  noon  in  Broadway,  shedding  tears 
as  he  studied  that  little  print,  so  feelingly  picturing  human 
sorrow  and  the  Source  of  its  alleviation,  has  always  remained 
associated  with  the  artist  and  his  works.     If  Irving  could 


Recollections  of  Irving  269 

enjoy  wit  and  humour,  and  give  that  enjoyment  to  others, 
no  other  writer  of  books  had  a  heart  more  tenderly  sensitive 
than  his  to  the  sufferings  and  ills  to  which  flesh  is  heir. 

Of  his  later  days, — of  the  calmly  received  premonitions  of 
that  peaceful  end  of  which  only  the  precise  moment  was  un- 
certain,— of  his  final  departure,  so  gentle  and  so  fitting, — of 
that  "Washington  Irving-day"  so  dreamily,  blandly  still, 
and  almost  fragrant,  December  though  it  was,  when  with 
those  simple  and  appropriate  obsequies  his  mortal  remains 
were  placed  by  the  side  of  his  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  burial- 
ground  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  while  thousands  from  far  and  near 
silently  looked  for  the  last  time  on  his  genial  face  and  mourned 
his  loss  as  that  of  a  personal  friend  and  a  national  benefactor, 
yet  could  hardly  for  his  sake  desire  any  more  enviable  trans- 
lation from  mortality, — of  the  many  beautiful  and  eloquent 
tributes  of  living  genius  to  the  life  and  character  and  writings 
of  the  departed  author, — of  all  these  you  have  already  an  ample 
record.  I  need  not  repeat  or  extend  it.  If  you  could  have 
"assisted"  at  the  crowning  "Commemoration"  on  his  birth- 
day (April  3d)  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  you  would  have 
found  it  in  many  respects  memorably  in  accordance  with  the 
intrinsic  fitness  of  things.  An  audience  of  five  thousand,  so 
evidently  and  discriminatingly  intelligent,  addressed  for  two 
hours  by  Bryant,  with  all  his  cool,  judicious,  deliberate  criti- 
cism, warmed  into  glowing  appreciation  of  the  most  delicate 
and  peculiar  beauties  of  the  character  and  literary  services 
he  was  to  delineate, — and  this  rich  banquet  fittingly  desserted 
by  the  periods  of  Everett, — such  an  evening  was  worthy  of 
the  subject,  and  worthy  to  be  remembered.  The  heartiness 
and  the  genial  insight  into  Irving's  best  traits  which  the  poet 
displayed  were  peculiarly  gratifying  to  the  nearer  friends  and 
relatives.  His  sketch  and  analysis,  too,  had  a  remarkable 
completeness  for  an  address  of  that  kind,  while  its  style  and 
manner  were  models  of  chaste  elegance.  Speaking  of  Irving's 
contemporaries  and  predecessors,  he  warms  into  poetry,  thus : 

"We  had  but  one  novelist  before  the  era  of  the  Sketch  Book; 
their  number  is  now  beyond  enumeration  by  any  but  a  pro- 


270  George  Palmer  Putnam 

fessed  catalogue-maker,  and  many  of  them  are  read  in  every 
cultivated  form  of  human  speech.  Those  whom  we  acknow- 
ledge as  our  poets — one  of  whom  is  the  special  favourite  of 
our  brothers  in  language  who  dwell  beyond  the  sea — appeared 
in  the  world  of  letters  and  won  its  attention  after  Irving  had 
become  famous.  We  have  wits  and  humourists  and  amusing 
essayists,  authors  of  some  of  the  airiest  and  most  graceful 
contributions  of  the  present  century — and  we  owe  them  to  the 
new  impulse  given  to  our  literature  in  1819.  I  look  abroad 
on  these  stars  of  our  literary  firmament — some  crowded  to- 
gether with  their  minute  points  of  light  in  a  galaxy,  some 
standing  apart  in  glorious  constellations ;  I  recognise  Arcturus 
and  Orion  and  Perseus  and  the  glittering  jewels  of  the  Southern 
Crown,  and  the  Pleiades  shedding  sweet  influences;  but  the 
Evening  Star,  the  soft  and  serene  light  that  glowed  in  their 
van,  the  precursor  of  them  all,  has  sunk  below  the  horizon. 
The  spheres,  meanwhile,  perform  their  appointed  courses; 
the  same  motion  which  lifted  them  up  to  the  mid-sky  bears 
them  onward  to  their  setting;  and  they,  too,  like  their  bright 
leader,  must  soon  be  carried  by  it  below  the  earth." 
Let  me  quote  also  Mr.  Bryant's  closing  remarks: 
"Other  hands  will  yet  give  the  world  a  bolder,  more  vivid, 
and  more  exact  portraiture.  In  the  meantime,  when  I  con- 
sider for  how  many  years  he  stood  before  the  world  as  an 
author,  with  still  increasing  fame — half  a  century  in  this  most 
changeful  of  centuries — I  cannot  hesitate  to  predict  for  him 
a  deathless  renown.  Since  he  began  to  write,  empires  have 
arisen  and  passed  away;  mighty  captains  have  appeared  on 
the  stage  of  the  world,  performed  their  part,  and  been  called 
to  their  account ;  wars  have  been  fought  and  ended  which  have 
changed  the  destinies  of  the  human  race.  New  arts  have  been 
invented,  and  adopted,  and  have  pushed  the  old  out  of  use; 
the  household  economy  of  half  mankind  has  undergone  a 
revolution.  Science  has  learned  a  new  dialect  and  forgotten 
the  old;  the  chemist  of  1807  would  be  a  vain  babbler  among 
his  brethren  of  the  present  day,  and  would  in  turn  become 
bewildered  in  the  attempt  to  understand  them.  Nation  utters 
speech  to  nation  in  words  that  pass  from  realm  to  realm  with 


Recollections  of  Irving  271 

the  speed  of  light.  Distant  countries  have  been  made  neigh- 
bours; the  Atlantic  Ocean  has  become  a  narrow  firth,  and  the 
Old  World  and  the  New  shake  hands  across  it;  the  East  and 
the  West  look  in  at  each  other's  windows.  The  new  inventions 
bring  new  calamities,  and  men  perish  in  crowds  by  the  recoil 
of  their  own  devices.  War  has  learned  more  frightful  modes 
of  havoc,  and  armed  itself  with  deadlier  weapons;  armies  are 
borne  to  the  battle-field  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  dashed 
against  each  other  and  destroyed  with  infinite  bloodshed.  We 
grow  giddy  with  this  perpetual  whirl  of  strange  events,  these 
rapid  and  ceaseless  mutations;  the  earth  seems  to  be  reeling 
under  our  feet,  and  we  turn  to  those  who  write  like  Irving 
for  some  assurance  that  we  are  still  in  the  same  world  into 
which  we  were  born ;  we  read,  and  are  quieted  and  consoled. 
In  his  pages  we  see  that  the  language  of  the  heart  never  be- 
comes obsolete;  that  Truth  and  Good  and  Beauty,  the  off- 
spring of  God,  are  not  subject  to  the  changes  which  beset 
the  inventions  of  men.  We  become  satisfied  that  he  whose 
works  were  the  delight  of  our  fathers,  and  are  still  ours,  will 
be  read  with  the  same  pleasure  by  those  who  come  after  us." 

The  publishing  list  began  again  to  increase,  and  my 
father  now  revived,  as  a  branch  of  his  undertakings,  the 
business  of  supplying  libraries.  He  prepared  for  this 
purpose  a  brief  manual  entitled  Suggestions  for  Libraries, 
which  presented  counsel  and  information  that  were  very 
largely  utilised  by  literary  committees,  and  that  helped 
to  bring  to  the  firm  the  orders  for  the  books  recom- 
mended. This  manual,  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  very 
much  larger  work  entitled  Best  Reading,  which  was  pre- 
pared some  years  later  by  Mr.  F.  B.  Perkins,  work- 
ing under  general  suggestions  from  my  father.  I  am 
not  sure  whether  I  have  before  mentioned  the  work  that 
was  done  by  Mr.  Perkins  in  connection  with  Putnam's 
Monthly.  He  had  served  as  an  associate  editor  and  had 
done  very  good  editorial  service  indeed.  He  had  also 
contributed  some  clever  original  stories  and  sketches,  the 


272  George  Palmer  Putnam 

most  important  of  the  former  being  "My  Three  Conver- 
sations with  Miss  Chester."  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Char- 
lotte Perkins  Gilman,  has  during  these  later  years  been 
making  her  own  mark  in  literature  and  in  social  science. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
On  tKe  Eve  of  tHe  Civil  War 

BY  the  spring  of  i860,  the  politics  of  the  nation  were 
becoming  exciting,  but  even  men  like  my  father, 
who  had  kept  themselves  closely  associated  with 
political  movements,  had  as  late  as  June  very  little  pre- 
science of  all  that  the  months  immediately  succeeding 
were  to  bring  forth. 

It  is  doubtless  the  case  that  during  the  twelve  months 
preceding  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  the  South  had  a  much 
clearer  understanding  of  the  situation,  and  a  more  definite 
expectation  as  to  what  was  to  result  from  the  situation, 
than  was  possible  for  the  North.  It  was,  in  fact,  in  con- 
sequence of  this  clearer  understanding  that  the  prepara- 
tions of  the  South  for  the  war  were  made  to  so  considerable 
an  extent,  while  in  the  North  the  talk  about  war  was  dis- 
missed, as  had  been  the  similar  talk  in  the  time  of  Webster, 
as  a  vague  utterance  on  the  part  of  the  politicians. 

My  father,  who,  as  before  explained,  had  had  not  a  little 
personal  interest  in  connection  with  the  organisation  in 
1856  of  the  Republican  party,  was  naturally  an  ardent  sup- 
porter of  Lincoln.  He  had  himself  favoured  the  nomina- 
tion of  Seward,  who  was  accepted  by  his  fellow-citizens 
of  New  York,  and  by  a  certain  proportion,  at  least,  of  the 
Republicans  of  New  England,  as  a  fair  representative  and 
exponent  of  the  anti-slavery  cause.  By  a  large  body  of  the 
is  273 


274  .AbraHam  Lincoln 

Abolitionists,  Seward  was,  however,  distrusted,  while  a 
good  many  of  the  Republicans  of  the  West,  who  felt  that 
the  strength  of  the  party  must  in  any  case  depend  upon 
Western  votes,  could  not  shake  off  the  feeling  that  Seward 
had  been  too  closely  mixed  up  with  the  twisted  and  more 
or  less  unscrupulous  political  methods  of  the  Empire 
State.  In  February,  i860,  some  months  before  the  date 
fixed  for  the  Chicago  Convention,  Mr.  Lincoln  (whose 
name  had  become  known  in  the  East  through  his  dramatic 
contest  with  Douglas)  had  been  asked  to  give  a  lecture  in 
New  York  on  the  political  situation.  My  father  wras  one 
of  the  committee  of  invitation  and  he  was  considerate 
enough  to  smuggle  me  into  a  seat  on  one  corner  of  the 
platform.  The  meeting  was  held  in  Cooper  Union  and 
was  presided  over  by  Mr.  Bryant.  The  first  impression 
made  upon  the  New  York  audience  by  the  uncouth  figure 
of  the  "rail-splitter"  of  Illinois  was  not  favourable.  He 
seemed  hardly  to  know  what  to  do  on  the  platform  with 
his  long  arms  and  still  longer  legs.  His  clothes  did  not  fit, 
his  hair  was  shaggy;  his  first  utterances  failed  to  give 
evidence  of  the  thought  and  expression  with  which  he  had 
been  credited.  As,  however,  the  speech  progressed,  the 
hearers  came  to  feel  that  the  man  who  was  speaking  to 
them  had  something  definite  to  say  and  knew  how  to  say  it. 
Here  was  a  real  man,  who  was  speaking  from  conviction 
and  with  knowledge,  and  as  the  glow  of  his  earnestness  lit 
up  his  rugged  features,  and  the  words  fell  into  shape  behind 
his  earnest  thoughts,  it  was  realised  that  a  new  orator  and 
a  new  leader  had  come  before  the  people.  It  was  unques- 
tionably the  memory  of  this  speech  that  made  Lincoln's 
nomination  possible  in  the  closely  fought  contest  at 
Chicago.  As  the  parties  were  then  divided,  after  the  split 
in  the  Democratic  ranks,  the  nomination  was  equivalent  to 
an  election. 

Through  the  long  months  between  June  and  November, 


The  OutbreaK  of  the  War  275 

there  continued  to  come  from  the  Border  States  and  from 
the  States  farther  south,  rumblings  and  utterances  which 
finally  took  shape  in  threats  of  secession.     The  political 
leaders  and  the  voters  behind  them  in  these  Southern 
States  had,  however,  for  so  many  years  been  insisting  that 
if  they  did  not  have  their  own  way  in  directing  the  national 
policy  they  would  break  up  the  nation,  that  the  voters  of 
the  North  were  entirely  unready  to  give  any  weight  to  the 
present  threats.     While  the  political  leaders  in  the  South 
did  not  themselves  believe  that  the  North  would  be  willing 
to  fight  for  the  preservation  of  the  nation,  they  judged  that 
a  good  show  of  preparation  for  war  through  the  Southern 
States  might  itself  act  as  a  deterrent  against  any  strong 
military  sentiment  in  the  North.     The  crisis  may  be  said 
to  have  culminated  with  the  futile  attempts  to  relieve 
Fort  Sumter,  and  with  the  action  finally  taken  in  Charles- 
ton in  bringing  on  the  war  by  the  forcible  reduction  of  the 
fort.     The  guns  fired  at  Sumter  had,  as  an  immediate 
result,  one  may  say  service,  the  solidifying  of  opinion  in 
the  North  in  support  of  the  Government  and  of  the  cause 
now  recognised  as  national.     The  great  majority  of  the 
Democrats  in  the  States  which,  like  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York,  had  given  majorities  for  Buchanan,  classed  them- 
selves now  as  War  Democrats,  and  came  forward  with 
their  money  and  with  personal  service  with  a  loyalty  as 
prompt  and  as  energetic  as  that  shown  by  the  Republicans. 
The  state  of  opinion  in  the  chief  city  of  the  Union  had 
given  no  little  anxiety  to  the  new  Administration  and  to 
loyal  men  generally.     The  business  interests  of  New  York 
had  been  very  closely  associated  with  the  South.     The 
accounts  of  a  large  number  of  the  Southern  plantations 
were  kept  in  New  York,  and  it  was  from  New  York  factors 
that  had  been  secured  the  supplies  for  the  plantations 
and  the  advances  on  the  crops  that  were  finally  to  be  sold 
through  these  factors.     At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  a  good 


276  George  Palmer  Putnam 

many  millions  of  dollars  were  due  from  the  planters  to 
their  Northern  business  agents,  and  by  far  the  larger  por- 
tion of  the  amount  should  have  been  paid  to  New  York. 
The  trade  of  the  South,  apart  from  this  direct  business  of 
the  planters,  was  also  largely  supplied  by  the  New  York 
distributing  houses.  The  business  men  of  the  city  had, 
therefore,  a  double  interest  in  preventing  or  in  delaying 
any  action  on  the  part  of  the  Government  or  any  ex- 
pressions of  opinion  on  the  part  of  their  own  fellow-citizens 
which  might  hasten  the  bringing  about  either  of  secession 
or  of  the  conflict  to  prevent  secession.  War  for  them 
meant  not  only  the  loss  of  millions  of  dollars  at  that  time 
owing  from  Southern  correspondents,  but  also  the  loss  of  a 
trade  for  the  future  upon  which  many  of  them  were  prac- 
tically dependent.  For  these  New  York  merchants  to 
take  an  active  part  in  support  of  the  war  measures  of  the 
Government,  and  in  so  doing  to  embitter  their  Southern 
correspondents,  meant,  with  not  a  few,  business  ruin.  It 
may  be  to-day  a  matter  for  surprise  that  there  were  but 
few  of  these  merchants  who,  when  the  issue  was  fairly 
drawn,  failed  to  stand  the  test.  Their  patriotism  and 
their  recognition  of  the  larger  importance  of  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  nation  outweighed  their  immediate  business 
interests  and  their  very  natural  business  apprehensions. 

The  city  had  a  large  Democratic  majority,  and  the 
Mayor  who  had  been  elected  in  i860,  Fernando  Wood, 
was  not  only  a  Democrat,  but  one  whose  supporters 
included  the  least  satisfactory  groups  of  the  Demo- 
cratic voters.  He  was  a  clever  politician  with  a  cer- 
tain cleverness  of  speech  which  passed  for  eloquence 
and  which  gave  him  with  his  own  circle  of  voters  an 
effective  influence.  After  the  election  of  Lincoln,  and 
when  there  was  still  doubt  concerning  the  strength  or 
solidity  of  the  national  sentiment  in  the  North,  Wood  had 
put  forward  a  scheme  for  the  secession  from  the  State  of 


Is  New  York  Loyal?  277 

the  city  of  New  York,  which  was  to  take  with  it  the 
territory  of  Long  Island  and  Staten  Island.  His  scheme 
went  so  far  as  to  propose  for  the  new  State  the  name  of 
Tri-insula.  The  proposition  was  based  upon  the  expecta- 
tion that  the  secession  of  the  South  would  result,  of  ne- 
cessity, in  the  general  break-up  of  the  Union.  Wood 
proposed  that  New  York  should  become  a  free  city,  like 
Hamburg.  He  posed  as  a  free-trader,  and  he  contended 
that,  with  an  open  port,  the  city  could,  whatever  might 
be  the  status  of  the  Government  behind  it,  make  large 
profits  for  its  citizens  out  of  the  foreign  trade  of  the  world. 
There  was  for  a  time  some  semi-serious  discussion  of 
Wood's  proposition,  but,  as  events  progressed,  it  became 
evident  that  even  in  Democratic  New  York,  with  its 
Southern  business  connections  and  its  close  social  affilia- 
tions with  the  South,  the  national  sentiment  was  bound  to 
assert  itself,  and  was  prepared  to  place  the  resources  of  the 
city  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government.  Immediately 
after  the  opening  of  fire  on  Fort  Sumter,  a  public  meeting 
of  the  loyal  citizens  of  New  York  was  called.  My  father's 
name  appeared  naturally  in  the  list  of  callers,  a  list  aggre- 
gating possibly  one  hundred  in  all.  The  meeting  was  held 
in  Union  Square.  At  the  south  end  of  the  square,  where 
the  statue  of  Lafayette  has  since  been  placed,  was  erected 
the  speakers'  platform.  The  Mayor  was  told  he  must 
preside  over  the  meeting,  and  must  make  a  loyal  speech 
committing  the  city  of  New  York  to  the  nat'onal  cause. 
My  father  was  one  of  a  committee  which,  with  Jackson  S. 
Schultz  as  chairman,  waited  upon  the  Mayor  with  this 
notification  and  gave  him  to  understand  that  unless  he 
could  be  depended  upon  to  represent  the  city  rightly  on 
this  issue,  he  would  not  remain  Mayor  very  long.  I  do 
not  know  what  constitutional  means  could  have  been 
taken  for  Wood's  deposition,  but  in  the  state  of  feeling  at 
the  time  it  seemed  pretty  certain  that  in  one  way  or 


278  George  Palmer  Putnam 

another  he  would  have  been  gotten  rid  of.  As  he  rose 
to  call  the  meeting  to  order  and  to  make  the  introductory- 
speech  which  was  to  determine  his  own  position,  it  is 
reported  that  a  small  newsboy,  who  had  climbed  up  into 
the  fork  of  a  tree  overlooking  the  platform,  called  down  to 
him:  "Now,  Nandy,  mind  what  you  say;  you  have  got  to 
stick  to  it  this  time."  With  the  committee  of  loyal  citi- 
zens on  the  platform  behind  him,  and  with  a  great  mass  of 
energetic  loyalty  in  front  of  him,  Mr.  Wood  decided  that 
he  had  to  mind  what  he  said,  and  that  what  he  said  had 
better  be  loyal.  His  speech  was  quite  definite  and  met 
the  requirements  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  from  that  day 
on  there  was  no  question  about  the  relation  of  New  York  to 
the  war. 

Shortly  after  the  holding  of  this  Union  Square  meeting, 
a  hundred  citizens  (largely,  of  course,  the  same  men) 
came  together  for  the  purpose  of  organising  the  Union 
sentiment  of  the  city  in  order  to  take  general  supervision 
of  the  business  of  raising  regiments  and  (what  was  still 
more  important  for  the  banking  centre  of  the  country)  of 
raising  funds.  The  result  of  this  meeting  was  the  organi- 
sation of  the  "Union  League  Club."  This  was  the  second 
Union  League  association  in  the  country.  The  model  had 
been  given  by  that  of  Philadelphia,  organised  a  few  weeks 
before  the  New  York  society.  The  Philadelphia  club  did 
active  service  throughout  the  entire  years  of  the  war,  and 
kept  in  close  relations  with  its  fellow  Union  Leaguers  in 
New  York,  Chicago,  and  elsewhere.  The  New  York  club 
made  its  first  home  in  a  house  on  the  corner  of  1 7th  Street 
and  Broadway,  facing  southward  towards  Union  Square — 
a  house  which  was  placed  at  the  club's  disposal  by  its 
owner,  Mr.  Henry  G.  Marquand. 

It  is  not  necessary  in  a  sketch  like  this  to  give  space  to 
the  details  of  the  relations  of  New  York  City  to  the  war. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  during  the  whole  period  my 


Helping  tHe  Soldiers  279 

father  busied  himself  (notwithstanding  his  own  rather 
absorbing  business  difficulties)  in  all  the  work  that  was 
being  done  in  the  city,  such  as  the  raising  of  regiments,  the 
organising  of  hospital  supply  associations,  and,  later,  in 
the  work  of  the  great  Sanitary  Commission  and  in  asso- 
ciations for  caring  for  the  returning  sick  and  wounded,  etc. 

The  following  letter,  from  a  well-known  citizen  of  New 
York,  gives  an  indication  of  the  nature  of  the  service  my 
father  was  rendering  throughout  these  troublesome  years : 

Lenox,  Mass.,  Sept.  9,  1861. 
Dear  Mr.  Putnam: 

On  Saturday  afternoon  too  late  to  reach  your  store,  I  saw 
on  the  trees  in  5th  Ave.,  above  Madison  Square,  some  admir- 
able handbills,  containing  Democratic  declarations  as  to  men's 
duty  in  this  war. 

Here  in  Berkshire  there  are  more  "Seceshes"  than  I  had 
believed  possible  in  New  England.  I  want  to  enlighten  them 
here,  where  they  consider  themselves  near  the  centre  of  the 
sun  itself.  Please  send  me  immediately  as  many  of  these 
handbills  as  the  enclosed  $1.  will  pay  for — say  100,  on  paper 
at  60  c.  and  the  balance  on  cards  to  be  nailed  up  in  shops  and 
in  bar-rooms,  etc. 

I  thank  you  with  all  my  heart  for  your  timely  and  patriotic 
publication  of  these  declarations  from  an  authority  not  Re- 
publican.    Every  man  must  now  do  all  he  can  to  sustain  the 
Government  and  I  want  to  "circulate  your  documents." 
Faithfully  your  old  friend, 

James  W.  Beekman. 

In  addition  to  the  part  he  took  in  these  general  citizens' 
undertakings,  my  father  instituted  a  committee  of  the 
Maine  men  living  in  New  York,  of  which  committee  he  was 
either  chairman  or  acting  executive,  which  charged  itself 
especially  with  the  care  of  Maine  regiments  going  to  the 
front,  and  of  Maine  men — wounded,  sick,  or  destitute — 
returning  home. 


280  George  Palmer  Putnam 

The  most  distinctive  service  possibly  rendered  by  my 
father  during  these  war  years  was,  however,  in  connection 
with  the  ' '  Loyal  Publication  Society. ' '  It  is  my  impression 
that  the  plan  of  this  society  had  originated  with  himself. 
It  is  certain  that,  as  an  active  member  of  the  Publica- 
tion Committee,  the  responsible  work  in  planning  the 
publications,  in  getting  them  into  print,  and  in  securing  for 
them  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  the  widest  possible  cir- 
culation, rested  with  him.  The  society  was  organised 
early  in  1863.  It  held  its  first  anniversary  meeting  on  the 
13th  of  February,  1864.  The  president  was  Dr.  Francis 
Lieber,  a  German  scholar,  who  was  an  old  friend  of  my 
father's,  and  who  had  fought  in  the  Prussian  army  at 
Waterloo.  The  treasurer  was  Morris  Ketchum,  and  the 
chairman  of  the  finance  committee,  Legrand  B.  Cannon. 
The  moneys  were  raised  chiefly  through  Mr.  Ketchum, 
Mr.  Cannon,  William  E.  Dodge,  Jackson  S.  Schultz,  and 
William  T.  Blodgett. 

The  four  or  five  thousand  dollars  that  were  spent 
brought  service  to  the  Republic  in  more  ways  than  one. 
The  undertaking  might,  in  one  sense,  be  considered  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  publishing  work  done  by  Thomas  Paine 
in  1 776-1 778,  in  the  circulation  of  Common  Sense  and 
of  The  Crisis.  The  series  of  tracts  and  pamphlets  issued 
under  the  direction  of  my  father's  committee,  and  very 
largely  utilised  by  the  writers  of  newspaper  leaders 
throughout  the  country,  gave  the  substance  of  the  argu- 
ments by  which  the  cause  of  the  nationalists  was  to  be 
defended.  Many  doubtful  or  confused  citizens  learned  first 
from  these  writings  what  the  actual  nature  of  the  Confed- 
eration was,  how  the  present  issue  had  arisen,  what  it  was 
that  was  being  fought  out  in  the  war,  and  what  resources 
the  nation  had  available  for  its  own  defence.  The  last 
detail,  emphasised  in  certain  pamphlets  prepared  particu- 
larly for  foreign  readers,  was  of  exceptional  importance  in 


THe  Loyal  Publication  Society  281 

connection  with  the  sale  in  Europe  of  the  United  States 
bonds.  There  was,  even  in  England,  a  very  large  amount 
of  ignorance  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  American  Gov- 
ernment, and  in  regard,  also,  to  the  respective  resources 
of  the  contestants  in  the  Civil  War.  The  political  feeling 
in  England  remained  still  so  largely  opposed  to  the  cause 
of  the  North  (at  least,  among  the  larger  merchants  and 
the  capitalists),  that  but  very  small  sales  were  ever  found 
with  English  investors  for  the  bonds  representing  the 
American  war  loan.  The  same  thing  is  to  be  said  of 
France,  where  the  feeling  was  also  largely  Southern  in  its 
sympathy,  and  where  there  was  not  such  opportunity  as 
there  was  in  England  of  securing  trustworthy  information 
as  to  the  value  of  the  bonds  in  question.  Such  amounts 
as  were  secured  from  foreign  investors  came  chiefly  from 
two  centres,  Frankfort  and  Amsterdam,  and  the  subscrip- 
tions in  Amsterdam  were  Very  much  the  most  important 
of  any  received  in  Europe. 

Curiously  enough,  it  was  from  the  same  city  nearly  one 
hundred  years  earlier  (in  1777)  that  Benjamin  Franklin 
arranged  for  the  first  foreign  loan  of  the  young  Republic. 
It  was  the  proceeds  of  this  loan,  the  moneys  remitted  by 
Franklin  from  the  Dutch  merchants  who  had  faith  in  the 
Republic,  that  enabled  the  army  of  Schuyler  to  secure  its 
outfit  of  ammunition  and  stores,  without  which  the  battle 
of  Saratoga  could  not  have  been  fought  and  the  surrender 
of  Burgoyne  could  never  have  been  accomplished.  Twice 
within  the  century,  the  little  Republic  of  Holland  had  thus 
come  to  aid  the  great  Republic  of  the  western  hemisphere. 
The  connection  of  this  historic  incident  with  the  record 
of  my  father's  work  is  through  the  "Loyal  Publication 
Society."  As  before  stated,  my  father  had  had  particu- 
larly in  mind  in  his  first  scheme  for  the  society  the  import- 
ance of  influencing  public  opinion  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent.     One  of  the  earlier  of  the  monographs  issued 


282  George  Palmer  Putnam 

by  the  society  had  been  written  at  my  father's  suggestion 
and  was  the  work  of  his  friend  and  old-time  author,  David 
A.  Wells.  It  was  entitled  Oar  Burden  and  Our  Strength, 
and  it  had  for  its  purpose  the  setting  forth,  for  the 
information  of  the  European  creditors  and  possible  in- 
vestors in  United  States  bonds,  the  nature  of  the  re- 
sources that  were  at  the  command  of  the  North  and  of 
the  methods  under  which  these  resources  were  being  made 
available  for  carrying  on  the  war,  and  for  making  provision 
for  the  payment  of  the  interest,  and  later,  of  the  principal, 
of  the  accumulating  war  indebtedness.  This  pamphlet 
was  printed  not  only  in  English,  but  in  the  languages  of  all 
the  European  states  whose  opinion  or  influence  was  likely 
to  prove  of  service.  Editions  were  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  American  banking  representatives  in  Frankfort  and 
in  Leipsic;  the  editions  in  Dutch  were  handled  by  the 
bankers  in  Amsterdam,  while  a  similar  use  was  made  of 
the  supplies  for  Paris,  Florence,  Stockholm,  Copenhagen, 
St.  Petersburg,  etc.  In  places  in  which  no  important 
banking  operations  were  being  carried  on,  the  distribution 
was  naturally  effected  through  the  United  States  consuls. 
I  happen  to  have  personal  knowledge  of  the  imme- 
diate cause  for  the  production  of  the  Wells  pamphlet. 
At  the  time  the  war  broke  out,  I  was  a  student  in  Berlin. 
The  American  Minister,  Governor  Wright  of  Indiana, 
was  a  good-natured  Indiana  farmer.  He  had  no  language 
but  English  (of  the  Indiana  variety),  and  the  management 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Embassy  fell  very  largely  into  the 
hands  of  his  secretary,  a  clever  Virginian  named  Hudson. 
Hudson  was  familiar  with  French  and  German,  and  he 
used  his  position  to  influence,  through  the  press  and  in  dip- 
lomatic circles,  public  opinion  in  favour  of  the  contention 
of  the  South.  While  he  was  still  secretary,  he  put  into 
shape  for  the  printers  a  pamphlet  planned  to  further  the 
sale  of  the  Confederate  cotton  bonds,  and  on  the  day 


THe  Loyal   Publication  Society  283 

that  he  left  office,  this  pamphlet  was  brought  into  pub- 
lication in  the  three  or  four  leading  languages  of  Europe. 
It  secured  a  wide  distribution,  principally  by  means  of 
the  banking  correspondents  of  the  Erlanger  Brothers, 
of  Frankfort,  who  were  the  financ  al  agents  of  the  Con- 
federacy. In  this  pamph  et,  Hudson  took  the  ground  that 
the  Confederate  bonds  constituted  the  safest  possible 
security  for  European  investors.  He  showed  that  each 
dollar's  worth  of  bonds  rested  upon  the  security  of  cotton 
which  at  the  time  the  bond  was  issued  was  worth  from 
75  cents  to  $1.00  a  pound,  and  which  was  continually 
increasing  in  value. 

These  bonds  [said  Hudson]  will  be  paid  from  the  sales  of 
the  cotton,  whether  the  Confederacy  succeeds  or  not.  .  .  . 
The  cotton  is  now  the  property  of  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment, or  will  promptly  come  into  Government  possession. 
It  is  now  on  sale  in  Liverpool,  or  is  on  its  way  to  Liverpool, 
or  is  in  readiness  for  shipment  in  New  Orleans,  Savannah, 
and  Mobile.  The  talk  of  hindering  the  export  of  cotton  by 
a  blockade  of  the  Southern  Coast  is,  of  course,  an  absurdity. 
Whoever  heard  of  an  effective  blockade  covering  two  thou- 
sand miles?  The  Federal  bonds  [continued  Hudson — he  was 
speaking  of  the  so-called  "seven-thirties"]  rest  upon  an 
absolutely  unsecured  foundation  of  credit.  They  are  issued 
in  the  name  of  the  so-called  United  States,  but  there  is  no 
longer  a  nation  bearing  that  name.  The  community  of  thirty- 
six  States  is  already  divided;  eleven  States  have  gone,  and 
these  are  shortly  to  be  joined  by  at  least  two  more.  It  is 
probable  that  the  remaining  twenty-three  or  twenty-four  will 
themselves  break  up  into  several  independent  communities. 
The  promise  to  pay,  however,  is  a  promise  given  in  the  name 
of  a  community  of  thirty-six  States.  If  this  so-called  nation 
is  broken  up  (and  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  no  longer  exists),  no 
individual  group  of  the  States  has  any  legal  responsibility  for 
the  indebtedness  of  the  whole.  The  prospect  of  the  repay- 
ment of  these  bonds  depends  entirely  upon  the  success  of  the 


284  George  Palmer  Putnam 

States  of  the  North  in  conquering  the  States  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, and  this  is  very  generally  admitted  to  be  impossible. 

The  argument  was  specious,  and  it  counted  with  thou- 
sands of  hapless  investors  throughout  Europe,  in  Germany, 
in  France,  and  in  England,  who  threw  away  their  money 
on  the  so-called  absolute  security  of  the  Confederate  cot- 
ton bonds. 

In  common  with  other  Americans  in  Berlin,  I  had 
found  myself  very  indignant  at  the  action  of  Hudson, 
and  this  indignation  was  increased  when  I  secured  on  the 
day  of  publication  a  copy  of  his  pamphlet.  I  sent  it  at 
once  to  my  father  in  New  York,  with  a  summary  of  its 
purpose  and  argument.  He  recognised  the  importance 
of  having  such  an  attack  promptly  and  effectively  repelled 
and  it  was  as  a  reply  to  the  Hudson  argument  that  the 
Wells  monograph,  Our  Burden  and  Our  Strength,  was 
prepared.  During  certain  portions  of  the  year  1 861,  as  a 
result  of  the  representations  of  Hudson  and  of  the  Erlan- 
gers,  the  Confederate  cotton  bonds  were  quoted  at  a 
higher  rate  than  the  United  States  "seven-thirties,"  but, 
by  1862,  the  relation  had  changed,  and  thereafter  the 
cotton  bonds  sank  rapidly. 

The  service  rendered  by  the  Wells  monograph,  which 
was  written  with  full  knowledge  of  the  subject  and  with 
the  most  effective  presentation  of  the  case,  offset  many 
times  the  cost  of  its  production.  It  was  largely  by  means 
of  the  information  compiled  by  Wells  and  distributed 
throughout  the  world  by  my  father's  Loyal  Publication 
Society,  that  the  financial  agents  of  the  United  States  were 
able  to  make  clear  to  investors  in  Europe  the  nature  of  the 
security  that  was  being  offered  in  these  "seven-thirty" 
bonds.  The  name  came,  of  course,  from  the  fact  that  the 
bonds  bore  interest  at  the  rate  of  two  cents  per  hundred 
dollars  per  day,  or  seven  and  three  tenths  per  cent,  per 


The  Loyal  Publication  Society  285 

annum.     If  the  security  were  all  right,  the  interest  was 
most  assuredly  tempting,  being  very  much  higher  than 
could  be  obtained  from  the  bonds  of  any  European  state. 
English  distrust  continued  to  prevent  the  bankers  of  Lon- 
don from  handling  the  loan,  and  but  comparatively  small 
amounts  of  this  loan  or  of  the  later  "five-twenties"  issue 
(bonds  bearing  interest  at  five  per  cent,  per  annum,  redeem- 
able at  the  option  of  the  Government  in  twenty  years)  were 
purchased  in  England.     The  same  report  may  be  made  for 
France,  where  there  was  no  great  faith  in  the  continued 
existence  of  the  American  Republic,  and  where  the  sym- 
pathies of  the  governmental  classes  were  entirely  adverse. 
In  Italy  and  in  Russia,  where  the  sympathies  were  possibly 
more  assured,  there  was  probably  very  little  money  to 
spare.     The  investments  came,  as  stated,  chiefly  from 
Holland,  to  a  second  degree  from  Germany,  and  in  smaller 
amounts,  but  still  large  proportionately  for  the  wealth  of 
the  countries,  from  Sweden,  Norway,  and  Denmark.    The 
investors  got  a  very  good  thing  indeed  in  a  business  way, 
as  a  result  of  their  faith  in  the  United  States.     These  first 
bonds  were  sold,  at  a  time  when  gold  was  from  50  to  75  per 
cent,  above  par,  at  rates  which  brought  into  the  United 
States  Treasury  from  seventy  to  eighty  cents  on  the  dol- 
lar.    Long  before  the  time  came  for  their  redemption, 
they  had  appreciated  so  that  they  finally  reached,  in  the 
open  market,  some  such  point  in  selling  value  as  $1.20. 
The  investors  could,  therefore,  have  made  from  60  to  75 
per   cent,   on   their   investment   if   they  1  made   sale    of 
their  bonds  before  redemption,  while  they  were  receiving 
during  the  intervening  years  interest  at  the  high  rates 
specified. 

David  A.  Wells,  who  was  in  a  position  to  render  this 
distinctive  service  to  the  nation  in  time  of  need,  had  for  a 
term  of  two  years  been  a  special  partner  with  my  father. 
He  came  to  New  York  as  a  youngster  in  1855  from  Nor- 


286  George  Palmer  Putnam 

wich,  Connecticut,  bringing  letters  of  introduction  from 
some  New  England  friends.  He  was  desirous  of  becom- 
ing a  publisher,  and  was  fairly  clear  that  he  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  such  a  career.  He  had  available  for  invest- 
ment the  modest  sum  of  $10,000.  My  father  liked  the 
young  man,  and  was  ready  to  train  him  for  the  publishing 
business.  He  did  not  feel  assured,  however,  that  young 
Wells's  decision  in  the  matter  was  final.  He  made  a 
position  for  him  on  the  staff  and  accepted  his  money  as  a 
temporary  investment,  making  young  Wells  a  special 
partner.  In  the  spring  of  1857,  Wells  concluded  that  he 
was  not  well  fitted  for  a  business  career,  and  gave  up  his 
plan  of  becoming  a  publisher,  and  his  $10,000  was  paid 
back  to  him.  It  was  fortunate  that  my  father  had  taken 
pains  to  protect  his  investment  under  a  special  partner- 
ship, as,  if  the  arrangement  had  continued  for  five  or  six 
months  longer,  there  would,  in  the  panic  of  1857,  have  been 
no  $10,000  available  to  return. 

Mr.  Wells  did  some  clever  work  in  popular  science, 
which  was  one  of  his  earlier  interests,  and  later  took  up  the 
subject  of  economics.  He  began  with  strong  opinions  in 
favor  of  the  protective  system,  opinions  inherited  from  the 
manufacturing  community  of  Connecticut  in  which  he 
had  been  brought  up.  As  he  pursued  his  studies,  however, 
he  failed  to  find  any  scientific  basis  for  the  so-called  pro- 
tective system,  and  by  the  time  the  war  was  over  he  had 
become  a  free-trader.  He  remained  until  the  year  of  his 
death  (1898)  one  of  the  leaders — it  is  perhaps  safe  to  say 
the  chief  leader — of  the  Free  Trade  party  in  the  country. 
His  library  and  his  personal  labour  were  always  at  the  serv- 
ice of  newspapers,  committees,  associations,  and  Con- 
gressmen desiring  material  for  use  as  arguments  against 
the  increasing  "monstrosities,"  as  he  termed  them,  of  the 
so-called  protective  system,  a  system  which,  beginning 
with  the  moderate  taxation  schedules  of  Henry  Clay,  had 


The  War  Tariff  287 

by   1898  developed  into  the  culminating  absurdities  of 
Dingleyism. 

During  the  war  there  was,  however,  no  time  and  no 
opportunity  for  economic  reforms.  The  Government 
needed  all  the  income  that  it  could  secure,  and  needed  it  so 
promptly  that  it  seemed  wise,  if  not  even  necessary,  to 
take  dollars  from  the  taxpayers  in  an  unscientific  and 
burdensome  manner  rather  than  not  to  get  them  at  once. 
Taxes  were  placed  on  everything  that  was  taxable,  includ- 
ing long  lists  of  things  which  had  never  been  taxed  before. 
Among  other  taxes  which  were  found  convenient  were 
charges  upon  manufactures.  Manufacturers  pointed  out 
that  a  burden  of  this  kind  placed  them  under  a  direct 
disadvantage  as  compared  with  European  manufacturers, 
who  did  not  have  any  such  war  taxes  to  pay.  The  answer 
to  this  complaint  was  a  material  increase  in  the  customs 
duties  levied  upon  all  imported  articles  which  had  before 
paid  something,  and  a  great  series  of  duties  on  new  articles 
which  it  had  heretofore  not  been  considered  advisable  to 
tax.  The  list  of  dutiable  articles  in  the  war  tariff  aggre- 
gated about  three  thousand.  Twenty-five  years  after  the 
war,  the  list  had  been  increased  under  McKinley  to  4138. 
At  this  time  the  list  of  dutiable  articles  on  the  English 
tariff  was  thirteen.  When,  after  the  war  was  over,  the 
war  taxes  were  taken  off  American  manufactures,  the 
customs  duties  were  still  left  in  force.  The  manufac- 
turers were  relieved  from  their  burden  and  were  placed  in 
a  position  largely  to  increase  their  profits,  but  the  con- 
sumers of  such  goods  as  could  be  in  part  manufactured  in 
the  United  States,  and  were  in  part  imported,  were  still 
called  upon  to  pay  taxes  at  the  war  rate.  This  rate 
has,  as  before  pointed  out,  instead  of  being  reduced 
been  permitted  to  be  materially  increased.  I  may,  how- 
ever, hazard  the  prophecy  that  the  Dingley  Bill  indicated 
the  high-water  mark  of  the  so-called  American  protective 


288  George  Palmer  Putnam 

system,  and  that  from  now  on  there  is  to  be  a  steady 
reduction  in  the  direction  of  a  tariff  for  revenue  only,  and 
towards  the  removal  altogether  of  the  Government  from 
business  partnership  with  one  group  of  citizens  at  the 
expense  of  all  others. 

Free-trader  as  he  was,  David  A.  Wells,  like  the 
other  citizens  of  his  day,  was  not  disposed  to  be  un- 
duly critical  of  Treasury  methods  under  stress  of  war. 
He  did  make  time,  however,  for  some  further  writ- 
ing on  the  best  methods  for  raising  money,  and  these 
writings,  together  with  the  pamphlet  before  referred  to, 
made  so  favourable  an  impression  upon  Mr.  Lincoln  and 
Salmon  P.  Chase,  who  was  for  the  greater  portion  of  the 
war  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  that  young  Wells  was 
called  to  Washington  as  an  adviser  of  the  Treasury.  A 
post  was  constituted  for  him  under  the  name  of  Special 
Commissioner  of  the  Treasury,  and  in  this  office  Wells 
worked,  in  co-operation  with  the  Secretary  and  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  of  the  House, 
at  the  burdensome  task  of  finding  moneys  with  which  to 
meet  the  tremendous  drafts  of  the  Army  and  Navy — 
drafts  which  aggregated  before  the  close  of  the  war  about  a 
million  and  a  half  dollars  a  day. 

During  these  troublesome  months  of  1861,  while  my 
father,  in  common  with  the  other  loyal  citizens,  was  giving 
his  resources  and  his  time  so  largely  to  work  for  the 
national  cause,  the  conditions  of  most  classes  of  business, 
and  particularly  of  business  in  books,  grew  more  and  more 
unsatisfactory.  The  book  business  depends  for  prosperity 
upon  quiet  times.  When  people  are  excited  about  current 
events,  they  give  their  time  to  newspaper  headlines  and 
to  newspaper  extras,  and  are  very  ready  to  postpone  the 
requirements  of  their  libraries.  When  they  are  devoting 
their  spare  money  (at  a  time  when  the  demands  for  taxes 
are  also  very  much  increased)  to  subscriptions  for  matters 


Appointed  Collector  289 

connected  with  war,  they  have  no  luxury  funds  available 
either  for  books  for  themselves,  or  for  subscriptions  to 
public  libraries. 

During  the  years  of  the  war,  the  larger  proportion  of  the 
town  libraries  throughout  the  country,  whose  incomes  were 
dependent  upon  voluntary  subscriptions,  ceased  buying 
books  altogether.  In  not  a  few  towns,  the  retail  book- 
sellers practically  stopped  business,  and  the  younger  men 
among  them  went  to  the  war. 

In  this  exigency,  my  father  permitted  his  name  to  be 
sent  in  to  the  President  as  a  candidate  for  Collector  of 
Internal  Revenue.  In  connection  with  the  increase  of 
general  taxation,  and  the  imposition  of  a  tax  on  incomes, 
it  became  necessary  to  make  a  very  considerable  addition 
to  the  force  of  collectors  of  taxes.  The  work  of  these  col- 
lectors was  also,  under  the  new  conditions,  increasing  so 
enormously  in  importance  that  a  higher  grade  of  citizens 
was  called  upon  to  take  the  responsibilities  of  the  collec- 
tors' offices.  The  nomination  of  my  father  was  seconded 
by  a  group  of  leading  citizens,  headed  by  William  Cullen 
Bryant.  There  were  naturally  very  many  applicants  for 
positions  which  carried  with  them  some  official  dignity 
and  to  which  were  attached  satisfactory  incomes.  The 
influence,  however,  of  men  like  Bryant,  Peter  Cooper, 
William  T.  Blodgett,  Jackson  S.  Schultz,  and  David  A. 
Wells  proved  to  be  sufficient  to  secure  for  my  father  the 
appointment  to  the  most  important  collection  district  in 
the  country — that,  namely,  which  included  the  residential 
quarter  extending  from  18th  Street  up  to  426.  Street,  and 
from  the  Hudson  River  to  Fifth  Avenue.  The  owners  at 
that  time  of  the  largest  incomes  possessed  in  the  country 
were  residents  of  this  district,  and  as  the  result  of  the  new 
income  tax  of  five  per  cent.,  the  collections  in  this  district 
were  very  much  in  excess  of  those  of  any  other  district  in 
the  country.     The  character  of  the  collector  who  held 


290  George  Palmer  Putnam 

office  in  such  a  district  was  of  importance,  not  only  in  con- 
nection with  the  routine  responsibilities  of  making  a 
proper  accounting  for  the  large  amounts  of  money,  but 
also  because  the  collector  stood,  as  it  were,  at  the  point  of 
contact  (which  might  easily  become  a  point  of  friction) 
between  the  taxpayer  and  the  Government. 

During  these  years  of  the  war,  the  American  citizens 
were  called  upon  to  pay  taxes  at  a  higher  rate  than  had 
ever  before  been  assessed  in  a  civilised  state  upon  its  own 
loyal  subjects.  In  1864,  a  special  war  tax  was  imposed  of 
ten  per  cent,  on  incomes.  No  such  tax  had  ever  been 
paid  before  excepting  as  a  tribute  by  conquered  people  or 
by  delinquents.  While  the  sentiment  of  loyalty  was 
sufficiently  strong  to  cause  by  far  the  greater  number  of 
the  citizens  to  make  willingly  the  financial  sacrifices  called 
for  by  the  war,  and  while  these  citizens  were  paying,  in 
addition  to  these  heavy  taxes,  large  sums  in  voluntary 
subscriptions  for  war  purposes,  it  was  also  the  case  that 
there  were  still  considerable  groups  of  men,  some  of  them 
wealthy  men  of  importance  in  the  community,  who  were, 
on  one  ground  or  another,  doubtful  about  the  probable 
results  of  the  war,  and  whose  loyalty  was  a  more  or  less 
fluctuating  quality.  To  many  of  this  class,  the  new  taxes 
seemed  to  be  unduly  oppressive.  In  other  cases,  there 
were  complications  due  to  the  novelty  of  an  assessment 
for  income  tax,  or  to  the  inexperience  and  stupidity 
of  the  assessors,  or  to  the  lack  of  frankness  or  lack  of  preci- 
sion on  the  part  of  the  taxpayer  submitting  his  statement. 
The  complications  were  many,  and  the  desirability  of 
having  such  complications  adjusted  so  that  they  should 
leave  as  small  a  measure  of  annoyance  as  possible  in  the 
minds  of  the  taxpayers  was  self-evident.  A  clumsy  or 
autocratic  collector,  of  the  Prussian  type  of  office-holder, 
could  easily  "disgruntle"  citizens  whose  support  and 
influence  were  important.     For  the  work  of  making  clear 


Service  as  Collector  291 

to  those  more  doubtful  taxpayers  the  purpose  and  pur- 
port of  the  law,  and  for  the  more  delicate  task  of  infusing 
into  men  whose  loyalty  was  half-hearted,  some  of  his  own 
sturdy  patriotism  and  clear-cut  convictions  as  to  the 
rights  of  the  nation  to  maintain  its  existence,  my  father 
was  admirably  fitted.  When,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  in 
coming  out  of  the  army,  I  served  for  a  few  months  in  the 
office  as  deputy  collector,  I  had  an  opportunity,  more  than 
once,  of  seeing  the  kind  of  influence  that  he  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  men  whose  business  brought  them  to  his 
collector's  office.  Some  more  or  less  important  citizen 
would  come  in  to  see  the  Collector,  in  a  condition  of 
extreme  indignation  with  the  assessor  or  with  the  Govern- 
ment, and  boiling  over  with  the  result  of  his  previous 
frictions ;  but,  after  ten  minutes'  talk,  he  would  come  out 
fairly  soothed  down,  and  more  than  ready  to  do  his  share 
to  support  the  Government,  and  he  would  hand  in,  with 
the  mildness  of  a  lamb,  the  check  for  his  proportion  of 
the  heavy  tax. 

The  six  men  who  stood  as  bondsmen  for  my  father  (the 
bond  amounted  to  $100,000)  were  in  part  those  who  had 
been  active  in  securing  his  nomination.  The  compensa- 
tion of  the  Collector  was  made  up  partly  in  a  guaranteed 
salary,  partly  in  commissions  on  collections  beyond  a  cer- 
tain amount.  For  a  district  like  the  Eighth  of  New  York, 
the  one  controlled  by  my  father,  the  guaranteed  or  mini- 
mum payment  did  not  come  into  force,  the  compensation 
being,  in  fact,  based  upon  the  commission  on  the  collec- 
tions, while  this  amount  was  itself  limited.  While  out  of 
this  compensation  had  to  be  paid  the  cost  of  running  the 
office,  my  father  found  himself  from  1862  on  in  receipt  for 
a  time  of  a  satisfactory  income. 

He  kept  the  family  expenses  moderate  (the  home  was 
for  part  of  the  time  out  of  town),  if  only  because  it  seemed 
to  him  wicked  to  spend  money  on  luxuries  when  so  much 


292  George  Palmer  Putnam 

was  needed  for  the  soldiers.  He  gave  largely  for  the  series 
of  war  subscriptions  previously  referred  to,  and  such 
moneys  as  remained  over  from  year  to  year  were  utilised 
for  the  payment  of  certain  balances  remaining  due  to  the 
creditors  of  the  old  firm  of  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Co.  at  the  time 
of  its  failure  in  1857.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  there 
was  no  legal  or  business  obligation  whatsoever  in  regard  to 
these  creditors.  My  father  had  received  a  full  quittance, 
and  the  creditors  had  understood  that  the  resources  of  the 
firm  had  been  applied  with  perfect  integrity  and  with  good 
management  on  the  part  of  the  assignee  to  the  satisfaction 
of  their  several  claims.  As  far  as  I  have  ever  heard,  or  as 
far  as  the  correspondence  of  the  time  goes  to  show,  there 
seems  not  to  have  been  a  shadow  of  criticism  upon  my 
father  for  these  business  disasters  of  1857.  In  fact,  the 
disasters  of  the  time  had  been  so  general  that  it  was  easy 
for  creditors  to  understand  how  a  merchant  might  come 
into  insolvency  without  any  serious  blundering  of  his  own. 
These  several  considerations  did  not  prevent  my  father 
from  having  the  conviction  that  if  moneys  which  had  been 
due  had  not  been  paid  in  full,  and  if,  later,  he  came  into 
the  possession  of  resources  which  could  be  utilised  for  such 
payments,  he  was  bound  to  make  such  application  of  these 
later  funds.  He  was  also  under  the  impression  (never 
before  having  held  government  office)  that  he  would 
remain  in  office  as  long  as  his  official  duties  were  properly 
discharged.  He  felt  justified,  therefore,  as  far  as  his 
family  was  concerned,  in  using  his  spare  income  in  this 
way,  instead  of  making  of  it  a  savings  fund. 

The  duties  of  the  collector's  office,  particularly  during 
the  first  two  years,  when  the  whole  system  of  war  taxes 
was  on  trial  and  in  process  of  evolution,  left  no  time  for 
any  other  business  responsibilities.  It  became  necessary, 
therefore,  for  my  father  to  make  some  disposition  of  his 
publishing   undertakings.      An    arrangement    was   com- 


Five  Mile  River  293 

pleted  with  Hurd  &  Houghton,  under  which,  during  the 
years  between  1862  and  1866,  they  printed  and  sold  on 
commission  the  Putnam  publications,  an  arrangement 
which  worked,  I  understand,  satisfactorily  for  both  parties. 
In  1 861,  my  father  took  a  home  for  the  family  on  the 
shores  of  the  Sound,  in  a  little  village  the  full  name  of 
which  was  then  recorded  as  Five  Mile  River  Landing.  A 
creek  a  few  miles  in  length,  in  finding  its  way  to  the  Sound, 
had  made  a  small  tidal  harbour  which  was  sufficiently  capa- 
cious to  make  provision  for  the  commerce  of  the  port,  car- 
ried on  by  means  of  a  fleet  comprising  one  sloop.  The 
main  occupation  of  the  dwellers  on  Five  Mile  River  was 
oystering.  The  Sound  waters  at  this  point,  and  for  many 
miles  farther  west  and  east,  were  staked  out  into  claims 
held  under  lease  or  in  fee  by  groups  of  oystermen,  and  care- 
fully patrolled  and  watched  during  the  whole  twenty-four 
hours  to  prevent  the  incursions  of  outside  "pirates."  The 
"river"  divided  the  townships  of  Darien  on  the  west  and 
South  Norwalk  on  the  east,  and  the  village  itself,  being  on 
both  sides  of  the  creek,  spread  into  both  townships.  My 
father's  house  was,  I  think,  the  only  one  at  this  time  which 
was  occupied  by  an  outsider  or  "Yorker."  The  ground 
or  lawn,  as  it  was  rather  euphemistically  called,  ran  down 
to  the  water's  edge,  and  the  resources  of  the  place  included 
in  addition  to  a  stable,  a  satisfactory  boat-house.  This 
last  was  added  by  my  father.  Boating,  fishing,  and 
oystering  were  the  amusements  of  the  boys,  as  they  con- 
stituted in  part,  at  least,  the  occupation  of  the  men.  I 
had  myself  but  little  personal  experience  of  this  particular 
home  of  the  family,  as  at  the  time  it  was  first  occupied  I 
was  in  Germany,  and  during  the  years  immediately  suc- 
ceeding, most  of  my  time  was  spent  in  the  army.  My 
impressions  of  the  family  life  on  the  Sound  are  therefore 
in  the  main  based  upon  the  accounts  given  by  the  children 
who  were  at  home  during  this  period. 


294  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

Like  most  other  Connecticut  villagers,  the  inhabitants 
of  Five  Mile  River  held  various  phases  of  denominational 
belief.  They  were  too  few  in  number,  however,  and  too 
impecunious  to  support  more  than  one  church,  and,  in 
fact,  the  resources  available  for  the  little  Church  were  at 
best  but  slim.  It  is  my  memory  that  the  pastor  had  a 
salary  appraised  at  $400,  and  payable  not  in  cash,  but  in 
clams  and  oysters  at  the  current  market  prices.  I  remem- 
ber one  of  the  pastors  as  a  quiet-mannered,  hard-featured, 
depressed-looking  man,  whose  eyes  gave  the  impression 
(perhaps  as  a  matter  of  pure  imagination  on  the  part  of 
the  observer)  that  he  had  to  think  hard  from  week  to  week 
to  secure  enough  material  to  keep  his  family  going.  There 
was  a  group  of  four  or  five  children,  and  their  principal 
sustenance  must  have  been  the  clams,  oysters,  and  other 
fish-food  of  the  coast. 

The  pastors  came  and  went,  but  the  permanent  official 
of  the  congregation  was  the  deacon.      There  must  have 

been  more  than  one,  but  I  recall  only  old  Deacon  L . 

He  was  in  many  ways  a  typical  Yankee,  but  he  had  a 
genius  for  laziness  that  we  do  not  usually  associate  with 
New  England.  His  own  household  was  looked  after  by 
a  succession  of  wives.  I  do  not  know  exactly  what  hap- 
pened to  the  various  Mrs.  L's.  They  did  not  die  in 
the  parish,  but,  under  some  convenient  interpretation  of 
Connecticut  law,  they  took  themselves  off  after  making  a 
sufficient  test  of  the  "incompatibility  of  temperament" 
of  the  deacon.  It  was  related  of  the  old  gentleman,  as  an 
instance  of  his  laziness,  that  the  wife  would  have  the  re- 
sponsibility of  getting  up  first  in  the  winter  morning,  hav- 
ing the  fire  made  and  the  work  of  the  household  started, 
preparing  the  breakfast,  etc.,  and  that  from  the  sheltered 
corner  of  the  warm  bed  the  deacon  would  call  out  to  her  to 
complete  to  a  certain  point  the  preparations  for  his  morning 
slapjacks:  "You  butter  the  cakes  and  I  '11  'lasses  them." 


THe  Village  Library  295 

He  was  willing  to  make  that  amount  of  contribution  to 
the  labour  of  preparing  his  own  breakfast. 

Our  family  constituted,  naturally,  a  valuable  accession 
to  the  little  congregation.  My  father,  as  usual,  took  upon 
himself  a  large  share  of  the  responsibility  of  making  good 
the  deficiencies  in  the  church  treasury.  It  was  he  who 
started  a  fund  for  extending  the  building,  and  who  in- 
sisted that  it  should  be  kept  in  repair.  It  was  he  who  pro- 
vided entirely,  "off  his  own  bat,"  so  to  speak,  the  library 
of  the  Sunday-school,  into  which  library  disappeared  from 
week  to  week  not  a  few  of  the  children's  books  from  our 
home  collection.  Often  enough,  when  there  was  a  hunt 
at  home  for  some  volume,  which,  however  often  read,  was 
still  in  demand,  the  answer  would  come  that  it  must  be 
looked  for  in  the  library  of  the  Sunday-school.  Later,  my 
father  instituted  a  parish  library,  with  books  for  the  older 
people;  although,  for  that  matter,  the  oystermen,  as  far 
as  they  were  readers  at  all,  were  quite  prepared  to  be  inter- 
ested in  the  books  prepared  for  children.  In  accordance 
wTith  the  routine  that  was  followed  in  each  one  of  his 
suburban  homes,  my  father  shaped  a  scheme  for  the  or- 
ganisation, on  a  more  ambitious  scale,  of  a  village  li- 
brary. A  room  was  secured  over  one  of  the  two  village 
shops,  and  books  were  supplied  from  the  Putnam  es- 
tablishment and  from  the  surplus  stock  of  certain  friends 
in  the  book- trade.  The  collection  was  put  in  charge 
of  a  wooden-legged  veteran,  who  was  supposed  to  have 
brought  from  the  army  credentials  as  to  good  service 
and  character.  In  order  to  make  provision  for  the 
support  of  the  one-legged  librarian,  my  father  arranged 
further  to  secure  for  him  a  stock  of  certain  classes 
of  goods  which  were,  I  suppose,  not  at  that  time  al- 
ready on  sale  in  the  village.  The  goods  were  consigned 
or  were  sold  on  time  by  Howard,  Sanger  &  Co.,  my  father 
being  of  necessity  the  guarantor  of  the  account.     For  the 


296  George  Palmer  Putnam 

sake  of  obtaining  further  funds  for  the  undertaking,  my 
father  arranged  also  with  one  or  two  of  his  friends  to  give 
lectures  in  the  village.  The  admission  fee  was  twenty- 
five  cents,  and,  as  the  lecturers  contributed  their  services 
and  the  church  building  was  free. for  the  purpose,  the 
dollars  taken  in,  however  few,  constituted  net  gain. 

One  of  the  friends  who  was  ready  to  give  my  father  help 
in  getting  together  funds  for  the  new  library  was  Horace 
Greeley.  Mr.  Greeley  came  to  the  cottage  one  Saturday 
afternoon  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  on  the  same  even- 
ing a  lecture  in  behalf  of  the  library,  and  the  receipts  (at 
twenty-five  cents  a  head,  children  "lumped")  were  very 
satisfactory.  My  mother  related  that  at  the  supper  table 
she  saw  Mr.  Greeley  chuckling  to  himself  over  his  cup  of 
cold  milk  and  water,  half-and-half,  which  was  the  strong- 
est beverage  that  he  allowed  himself.  Her  curiosity  got 
the  better  of  her  discretion. 

"Mr.  Greeley,"  she  asked,  "do  let  us  know  what  it  is 
that  amuses  you?" 

"Why,  Mrs.  Putnam,"  said  the  lecturer,  "Mrs.  Greeley 
is  coming  to  New  York  to  see  me  to-day  and  I  am  not 
there." 

The  people  seemed,  at  the  time,  to  be  interested  in  the 
undertaking,  and  it  was  my  father's  hope,  based  on  his 
experience  with  previous  similar  enterprises,  that  in  com- 
ing to  the  lectures,  in  using  the  reading-room,  and  in  taking 
part  in  the  carrying  on  of  the  library  (which  was  nominally 
in  charge  of  a  committee  of  the  villagers),  the  settlers  on 
both  sides  of  the  creek  would  come  into  a  larger  sense  of 
corporate  village  feeling  and  of  fellowship  with  each  other. 
Promising  as  the  venture  seemed,  the  result  was  a  disap- 
pointment. The  one-legged  veteran  ran  away,  wooden  leg 
and  all,  with  such  cash  receipts  as  were  at  the  moment 
available  and  with  such  of  the  goods  as  were  most  portable. 
The  villagers,  getting  into  a  sharp  and  long-continued  con- 


THe  Village  Name  297 

test  concerning  the  final  name  for  their  settlement,  lost 
interest  in  the  library,  which  was  to  have  been  a  bond  of 
union.  The  books  were  scattered  and  in  large  part  lost 
and  the  library  itself  came  to  an  end  a  little  less  than  a 
year  after  its  foundation. 

The  matter  which  brought  dissension  into  this  little 
community  was,  as  stated,  the  question  of  its  final  name. 
When  the  family  first  took  up  its  abode  there,  the  nearest 
post-offices  were  at  South  Norwalk,  three  miles  to  the  east, 
and  Darien,  two  miles  to  the  west.  My  father  made  appli- 
cation to  the  authorities  for  the  establishment  of  a  post- 
office  for  the  needs  of  the  village,  and  in  order  to  make  an 
adequate  basis  for  an  average  amount  of  mail-matter  that 
should  meet  the  requirements,  he  arranged  to  have 
brought  up  from  his  office  in  New  York,  from  week  to 
week,  a  proportion  of  the  publishing  mail,  circulars,  etc., 
for  which  the  additional  time  could  be  afforded. 

The  Post-office  Department  objected,  naturally  enough, 
to  the  use,  as  a  name  for  the  new  post-office,  of  so  cumber- 
some a  designation  as  Five  Mile  River  Landing.  It 
became  necessary  to  arrive  at  some  more  convenient  desig- 
nation, while  it  was,  of  course,  desirable  that  this  name 
should  be,  if  practicable,  in  some  way  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  settlement.  My  father  found,  in  examining 
some  of  the  early  records  of  the  shore,  that  the  name 
Rowayton  had,  earlier  in  the  century,  been  utilised  for 
some  portion,  at  least,  of  the  territory  now  occupied  by  the 
village.  This  name  impressed  him  as  euphonious  and, 
in  connection  with  its  early  use,  as  legitimate.  A  town 
meeting  was  called,  and  in  presenting  to  the  meeting  the 
report  concerning  the  application  for  the  post-office,  the 
proposition  was  submitted  that  the  villagers  should  accept 
for  the  post-office  and  for  the  official  name  of  the  com- 
munity, the  name  of  Rowayton.  This  proposition  was 
adopted  in  the  meeting  by  a  satisfactory  vote,  and  the 


298  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

post-office  was  duly  instituted  with  the  name  of  Roway- 
ton.  Before  many  months,  however,  there  developed 
some  considerable  criticism  of,  and  antagonism  to,  the 
change  of  name.  Some  of  the  residents  who  had  been  at 
the  meeting  claimed  that  they  had  not  fully  understood 
the  matter,  and  that  they  had  never  intended  to  vote 
away  the  name  to  which  they  and  their  fathers  before 
them  had  been  so  long  accustomed.  Others  of  the  con- 
servatives, who  had  declined  to  come  to  the  meeting  at 
all,  took  the  ground  that  their  absence  should  have  been 
considered  as  a  vote  in  the  negative.  The  town  divided 
between  the  progressives,  or  liberals,  and  the  conservatives, 
and  for  many  months  the  fight  was  hot  and  heavy.  As 
the  bitterness  increased,  not  a  little  of  it  was  reflected 
upon  my  father.  His  many  services  were  forgotten  in  the 
general  charge  that  he  was  an  innovator,  and  that  he  had 
not  shown  sufficient  respect  for  the  feelings  of  the  older 
inhabitants.  It  was,  I  think,  during  this  time  that  the 
library  was  scattered.  Some  further  meetings  were  held, 
and  it  is  possible  (although  on  this  point  I  am  not  clear) 
that  there  may  have  even  been  a  later  reconsidering  deci- 
sion for  the  change  of  name.  Even  if  such  vote  were  taken, 
it  was,  of  course,  too  late  to  secure  from  Washington  any 
different  name  for  the  little  post-office.  This  remained 
and  still  remains  Ro  way  ton.  A  year  or  more  later,  how- 
ever, when  the  New  Haven  Railroad  agreed  on  an  appli- 
cation (which  had  also  been  originally  submitted  by  my 
father)  to  institute  a  station  for  the  village,  the  influence 
of  the  conservative  settlers  was  sufficient  to  induce  the 
company  to  name  the  station  Five  Mile  River.  For  some 
little  time  the  station  bore  this  name,  while  a  few  hundred 
feet  away  stood  the  little  post-office  with  the  name  Ro  way- 
ton.  The  matter  was  finally  adjusted  (twenty-five  years 
later)  by  the  acceptance  for  both  of  the  name  Roway- 
ton.       For  a  considerable   time,  however,    the  business 


Vincent  Colyer  299 

brought,  as  explained,  no  little  unpopularity  to  my  father. 
In  1873,  a  few  months  after  his  death,  the  residents  came 
together  in  town  meeting  and  recalled,  in  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions, his  long-continued,  public-spirited  services  in  their 
behalf .  As  one  result  of  this  meeting,  and  as  an  expression 
of  the  highest  honour  that  the  community  could  bestow 
upon  the  memory  of  any  distinguished  citizen,  the  sloop 
which  carried  on  the  commerce  of  the  place  with  the  neigh- 
bouring town  of  New  York  was  rechristened  George  Palmer 
Putnam. 

One  of  the  New  York  friends  who  was  induced  by  my 
father  to  make  a  summer  home  near  our  own  was  Vincent 
Colyer.     Colyer  was  an  artist  whose  industry  and  fairly 
satisfactory  technique  never  made  up  for  his  entire  lack  of 
imagination.     While  not  very  great  as  an  artist,  he  was  a 
loyal  friend  and  a  high-minded  citizen.     During  the  years 
of  the  war,  he  served  at  the  front  as  a  representative  either 
of  the  Sanitary  or  of  the  Christian  Commission.     His 
most  noteworthy  service  was  rendered  in  North  Carolina 
in  1865.     I  had  knowledge  of  it  because  the  regiment  of 
which  I  was  at  the  time  adjutant  was  then  stationed  at 
Newbern.       Colyer   had   been    caring  for  the  sick  and 
wounded  and  was  in  charge  of  certain  sanitary  supplies  at 
Newbern  when  smallpox  broke  out  in  a  camp  of  negro 
refugees  that  had  been  established  a  mile  or  two  outside  of 
the  camp  lines  of  the  town.     A  cordon  or  picket  line  was 
drawn  about  the  negro  settlement  for  the  sake  of  protect- 
ing from  contagion  the  troops  and  the  settlers  in  town. 
The  sick  negroes  were  shut  up  in  this  narrow  limit  and 
were  said  to  be  dying  rapidly  for  lack  of  care  and  food. 
Some  provision  had  been  made  for  placing  food  within 
their  reach  outside  of  the  picket  lines,  but,  in  connection 
with  the  lack  of  organisation  in  the  coloured  camp,  the 
supplies  were  taken  possession  of  by  those  who  were  still 
strong  and  the  invalids  were  neglected.     Colyer  placed  in 


300  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  hands  of  his  first  assistant  the  control  of  the  sanitary 
post  in  Newbern,  and  made  his  way  into  the  negro  camp, 
knowing  that  he  would  have  to  remain  there  until  the 
pestilence  was  over.  He  was  accompanied  by  one  of  his 
assistants,  who  was  ready  to  take  the  same  burden  and 
the  same  risk.  These  two  organised  the  sick  camp,  and 
compelled  those  who  were  still  strong  enough  to  take  care 
of  the  others.  The  supplies  of  food  were  systematised ; 
the  dead  were  buried;  the  dying  were  consoled,  as  far  as 
possible,  with  some  form  of  religious  service,  and  the  negro 
camp,  which  must  at  the  outset  have  been  very  much  of  a 
pandemonium,  was  brought  into  a  condition  of  decency 
and  order.  Some  months  later,  Colyer  emerged  from  the 
wilderness,  worn  out,  but  still  free  from  smallpox.  The 
service  was  one  which  ought  to  have  been  honoured  with  a 
decoration;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was,  I  believe, 
very  little  known  about  outside  of  the  group  of  managers 
of  the  Sanitary  Commission  and  of  a  few  among  the 
soldiers  of  Newbern  who  realised  what  Colyer  had  done 
to  protect  them,  as  well  as  to  serve  the  negroes. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  my  father's  con- 
nection with  the  Union  League  Club,  a  club  which,  as 
explained,  while  originally  instituted  to  represent  the 
loyalty  of  New  York  City  in  the  war,  remained  after  the 
war  one  of  the  more  important  of  the  social  club  organisa- 
tions of  the  city.  The  club  with  which  my  father's  asso- 
ciation was,  however,  the  longest  and  the  most  important 
was  the  Century. 

The  Century  Association  had  been  developed  in  the 
early  thirties  through  the  combination  of  an  art  society 
and  a  literary  group,  and  had  become  the  representative 
of  the  artistic  and  literary  interests  of  the  city  and  in 
some  measure  of  the  country.  My  father's  membership 
dated  from  the  early  forties,  and,  at  the  time  I  first  had 
direct  knowledge  of  the  club,  he  ranked  already  among  the 


THe  Sanitary  Commission  3GI 

older  members,  next  to  the  fast  diminishing  group  of  the 
"founders." 

In  1863,  as  a  result  of  some  dissension  in  the  Century, 
the  history  of  which  I  have  never  learned,  a  group  of 
Centurions  seceded  and  organised  the  Athenaeum  Club, 
which  made  its  quarters  in  a  building  on  the  west  side  of 
Union  Square,  in  the  block  between  15th  and  16th  streets. 
My  father  joined  the  Athenaeum,  while  not  giving  up  his 
membership  in  the  Century.  The  new  club  included  a 
group  of  distinctive  citizens,  but  its  business  affairs  were 
not  well  managed,  and  it  came  to  an  end  shortly  after  the 
war. 

In  1862,  the  Sanitary  Commission  was  organised,  the 
chief  movers  in  the  undertaking  being,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  the  Reverend  Henry  W.  Bellows,  Peter  Cooper, 
Cornelius  R.  Agnew,  William  E.  Dodge,  and  William 
Cullen  Bryant.  The  first  suggestion  for  the  Sanitary 
Commission  was  said  to  have  come  from  Dr.  Elizabeth 
Blackwell,  and  the  preliminary  meeting  was  held  in  Dr. 
Blackwell's  parlour.  It  was  the  purpose  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission  to  do  what  might  be  practicable  to  supple- 
ment in  the  field  the  work  of  the  army  hospitals.  For 
this  purpose,  it  collected  resources  in  shoes,  food,  clothing, 
and  moneys,  and  sent  directly  to  the  front  representatives, 
in  part  volunteers,  in  part  paid  workers,  whose  business 
it  was  to  care  for  the  wounded,  to  furnish  transportation 
to  the  hospitals,  to  provide  hospital  supplies,  to  provide 
clothing  for  the  sick,  and  to  do  all  that  might  be  prac- 
ticable to  make  less  wearisome  the  lot  of  the  sick  and 
wounded,  to  whichever  army  they  might  belong.  The  old- 
time  army  surgeons  at  first  made  strenuous  objections  to 
the  "interference,"  as  they  called  it,  of  citizen  volunteers, 
but  these  objections  speedily  disappeared.  The  surgeons 
recognised  very  soon  that  the  resources  at  their  command 
were  entirely  inadequate  to  keep  up  with  the  enormous 


302  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

mass  of  misery  resulting  from  the  exhaustion  of  the  cam- 
paigns and  from  the  increasing  numbers  of  those  who  were 
wounded  in  the  great  battles.  The  representatives  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission  were  (with  a  few  exceptions  among 
the  earlier  experiments  who  were  gradually  weeded  out) 
wise  enough  to  report  for  duty  and  for  instructions  to  the 
surgeons  in  charge  of  the  posts  or  of  the  army  commands, 
and  undertook  themselves  to  assume  charge  of  affairs  only 
when  there  was  no  official  representative  of  the  army 
medical  staff  to  take  responsibility.  There  were  many 
times  during  the  Virginia  campaigns  in  which  the  resources 
both  of  the  regular  staff  and  of  the  Sanitary  Commission 
were  absolutely  unequal  to  the  demands  brought  upon 
them,  but  there  is  no  question  that  the  intelligently  or- 
ganised machinery  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  bringing 
into  effective  service  resources  most  liberally  placed  at 
their  disposal  by  the  patriotic  citizens  behind,  resulted  in 
the  saving  of  thousands  of  lives  and  in  ameliorating  the 
pain  and  misery  of  thousands  of  sick  and  wounded.  Those 
of  us  who  were  doing  service  during  the  war  seasons  as 
far  away  from  the  base  of  supplies  as  Louisiana  had  reason 
to  regret  that  the  machinery  of  the  Sanitary  Commission 
was  not  sufficient  to  cover  the  entire  field  of  operations. 
Some  work  was  done  by  it  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  New  Orleans,  but  during  the  greater  portion  of  our 
campaigns  in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  we  never  came 
into  touch  with  a  Sanitary  Commission  waggon.  Under 
the  direction  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
of  New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia,  a  companion  soci- 
ety was  organised  known  as  the  Christian  Commission. 
This  had  among  its  founders  men  like  W.  E.  Dodge,  Morris 
K.  Jesup,  and  the  leading  ministers  of  the  great  cities, 
particularly  the  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  and  Methodists. 
Its  special  purpose  was  the  distribution  of  Bibles  and  other 
Christian  reading  matter,  and  the  holding  of  Christian 


THe  Sanitary  Commission  303 

service  on  Sunday  and  on  other  days  when  practicable. 
The  workers  of  the  Christian  Commission  were  prepared 
also  occasionally  to  help  the  soldiers  out  with  an  extra 
shirt  or  a  pair  of  shoes,  and,  as  I  remember,  in  some 
instances,  to  provide  writing  paper.  From  both  Sanitary 
Commission  and  Christian  Commission  came  workers 
who  were  ready  to  do,  and  who  did  do,  their  full  share  of 
service  on  the  battle-field,  often  under  heavy  fire,  in 
removing  or  in  caring  for  the  wounded. 

My  father  gave  active  help  to  his  friend,  Dr.  Bellows, 
in  the  work  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  and  in  the  or- 
ganisation of  the  great  Fair  held  in  New  York  City  in  1 864 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Commission.  He  collected  for  the 
Fair  funds  and  donations  of  books  from  the  book-trade, 
and  presided  over  the  sale  at  auction  of  certain  autographic 
copies  of  works  which  produced  what  might  be  called 
special  war  prices.  The  treasurer  of  the  Fair  was  George 
T.  Strong;  but  it  is  my  impression  that  the  chief  burden 
of  the  care  of  the  moneys  was  borne  by  the  assistant  or 
acting  treasurer,  Benjamin  Collins.  The  amount  realised 
was  over  $1 ,000,000. 

The  Life  and  Letters  of  John  M.  Forbes,  of  Massachu- 
setts, published  in  1899,  throw  light  upon  the  kind  of  work 
that  was  undertaken  during  the  war  by  the  loyal  mer- 
chants who,  while  themselves  unable  to  carry  muskets  or 
swords,  were  prepared  to  give  freely  of  their  thought,  their 
time,  and  other  resources  for  the  service  of  the  men  at  the 
front.  With  a  growing  family  of  youngsters  and  with 
varied  responsibilities  at  home,  my  father  had,  of  course, 
no  right  to  expose  himself  as  a  soldier.  He  did  the  best 
that  was  practicable  in  getting  the  family  represented  at 
the  front,  by  permitting  myself,  his  oldest  son  and  the 
only  one  of  the  family  circle  who  was  old  enough,  to  enlist 
as  a  soldier  in  August,  1862.  I  had  returned  from  Ger- 
many, partly  for  the  purpose  of  taking  my  part  with  the 


304  George  Palmer  Putnam 

other  youngsters  of  my  generation,  and  partly,  it  is  fair  to 
say,  because  it  was  impossible  in  the  precarious  condition 
of  my  father's  business  to  remain  away  from  home  making 
drafts,  however  small,  upon  his  narrowed  income. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Bull  Run 

MY  father's  desire  to  see  something  of  actual  war  led 
him,  however,  as  early  as  1 86 1 ,  to  make  his  way  to 
the  front.  He  secured  in  Washington,  a  few  days 
before  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  a  permit  to  go  to  the  army 
lines  in  Virginia  with  other  citizens  who  were  to  act  as 
volunteer  aides  to  the  surgeons'  department  in  caring  for 
the  wounded.  It  was  the  belief  of  not  a  few  of  the  citizens 
of  the  time  that  the  contest  was  going  to  be  decided  with 
one  or  two  battles  in  Virginia,  and  the  men  who  talked  of 
a  long  struggle  were  looked  upon  as  Cassandras.  My 
father  was,  as  always,  one  of  the  optimists,  and  if  there 
were  to  be  but  one  battle  in  the  war  he  wanted  to  see  of 
this  what  there  was  to  be  seen.  His  one  battle,  or  what  he 
saw  of  it,  must  have  been  unsatisfactory  enough.  He 
made  his  way  with  three  friends  through  Centreville,  on 
the  twenty-first  of  July,  to  the  immediate  rear  of  MacDow- 
ell's  army.  He  saw  and  heard  something  of  the  successes 
gained  in  the  morning  of  that  day  on  the  left  of  our  line 
and  was  able  later  to  bear  personal  testimony  to  the  sturdy 
fighting  done  by  troops  who  had  never  before  heard  the 
sound  of  a  gun  in  action.  It  may  well  be  a  matter  of 
pride,  in  fact,  that  American  citizens,  whether  they  wore 
the  blue  or  the  grey,  had  made  so  satisfactory  a  test  of 
their  fighting  capacity  during  the  long  hours  between 
20  305 


306  George  Palmer  Putnam 

daybreak  and  four  in  the  afternoon  on  that  July  day.  The- 
credit  between  the  armies  may  be  equally  divided.  There 
must  be  a  time,  however,  particularly  with  volunteer 
troops,  when  endurance  under  fire  comes  to  an  end.  The 
brilliant  flank  attack  made  by  Jackson  with  fresh  troops 
from  the  Valley  was  naturally  disheartening,  and  came  in 
the  end  to  be  demoralising  to  the  troops  of  our  right  wing 
who  had  been  already  exhausted  by  the  long  day's  strug- 
gle. The  retreat,  not  of  the  entire  army  but  of  the  bri- 
gades which  formed  the  right  division,  did  finally,  as  the 
sun  went  down,  partake  of  the  nature  of  a  rout.  The  troops 
in  the  centre  and  on  the  left,  however,  made  their  way  from 
the  battle-field  in  good  order  and  in  complete  organisa- 
tion. The  soldiers  who  had  been  carried  away  by  panic 
tumbled  through  Centreville  towards  Washington  with 
the  impression  that  the  rebels  were  close  at  their  heels. 
My  father,  with  one  of  his  citizen  friends,  slept  quietly 
at  Centreville  through  the  night.  They  had  spent  the 
afternoon  in  doing  what  they  could  in  finding  water  for 
the  tired  men  and  in  giving  information  from  one  com- 
mander to  another  as  to  what  had  happened  along  the  line 
of  the  road  that  they  had  travelled. 

On  one  interesting  detail  in  the  retreat  my  father  was 
able  to  give  a  word  of  personal  testimony  which  could  be 
utilised  to  correct  newspaper  history.  In  the  account  of 
what  he  saw  of  the  Battle  of  Bull  Run,  printed  later  in  the 
Knickerbocker  Magazine,  he  states  that  he  met  the  first 
individual  of  the  column  retreating  that  afternoon  towards 
Washington.  The  rider,  who  came  well  in  advance  of  any 
troops  whatsoever,  was  William  Russell  ("Bull  Run 
Russell"),  the  well-known  correspondent  of  the  London 
Times.  Russell's  face  and  figure  were  perfectly  familiar 
to  my  father,  who  had  known  him  in  New  York  and  had 
met  him  more  recently  in  Washington.  The  sympathies 
of  the  Times  were,  in  1861,  and  until  after  the  battle  of 


Bull  Rvin  307 

Gettysburg,  strongly  with  the  Southern  cause.  The 
letters  of  its  American  correspondent  and  the  leaders  of 
its  editorial  writers  were  in  full  harmony  in  deriding  the 
purposes  and  the  efforts  of  the  North  and  in  emphasising 
the  impossibility  of  the  success  of  the  task  that  the  North 
had  undertaken,  of  holding  the  nation  together.  Russell's 
previous  letters  had  made  frank  prophecy  that  the  whole 
business  of  the  war  would  be  over  in  a  few  months'  time 
and  that  the  result  would  be  the  establishment  of  a  new 
nation.  The  letter  describing  the  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
published  two  or  three  weeks  later  in  the  Times,  naturally 
took  an  "I  told  you  so"  form.  This  "decided  defeat  of 
the  North  was  but  the  beginning  of  the  end."  It  would 
serve,  of  course,  to  consolidate  the  national  sentiment  of 
the  South,  while  it  was  not  likely  that  the  North  would 
feel  encouraged  to  put  any  more  troops  into  the  field. 
Even  such  an  ignorant  and  untrained  leader  as  Mr.  Lin- 
coln must  recognise  after  Bull  Run  that  the  Northern 
"Mudsills"  could  not  be  depended  upon  to  make  any 
stand  against  the  Southern  chivalry.  These  generalisa- 
tions were  natural  enough.  They  were  strengthened, 
moreover,  by  a  detailed  account  of  what  Russell  himself 
claimed  to  have  seen  of  the  rout  and  the  retreat.  He  de- 
scribed himself  as  standing  with  one  or  two  Northern 
officers  across  the  road  south  of  Centreville  and  in  Centre- 
ville,  trying  to  help  them  (not  because  it  was  his  business 
in  any  way,  but  from  pure  personal  disgust  of  cowardice) 
to  stay  the  running  of  the  demoralised  soldiers.  He  de- 
scribes in  detail  the  noise  as  they  passed,  waggons,  mules, 
and  troopers  mingled  in  wild  confusion.  As  a  fact,  very 
little  at  all  happened  of  the  kind  that  Russell  described. 
As  a  further  fact,  whatever  of  the  kind  had  happened  he 
could  not  possibly  have  seen,  because,  mounted  on  a  fast 
horse,  he  was  himself  some  miles  in  advance  of  the  retreat- 
ing column.     The  printing  of  my  father's  narrative  in  New 


308  George  Palmer  Putnam 

York  papers  headed  off  and  branded  as  a  falsehood  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  statements  made  in  Russell's 
letter  to  the  Times.  Not  unnaturally,  the  relations 
between  the  two  men  were  later  somewhat  strained. 

The  next  morning,  having  spent  the  night  as  best  he 
could  in  caring  for  the  wounded,  father  made  his  way- 
back  to  Washington  and  from  there  was  recalled  by  the 
urgency  of  his  business  needs  to  New  York.  It  was  the 
only  time  that  he  really  got  within  sound  of  the  battle 
line  and  when,  a  little  more  than  a  year  later,  he  patted 
me  on  the  back  as  I  went  on  board  of  the  transport  for 
New  Orleans,  I  could  see  how  the  desire  for  active  service 
was  still  ardent  with  him. 

My  father's  account  of  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  printed 
in  the  Knickerbocker  Magazine,  may  find  place  here : 

Before  and  After  the  Battle 

a  day  and  night  in  "  dixie" 

"What  donkeys  you  Americans  are!  How  can  you  be  so 
pertinaciously  humbugged  by  that  slow  old  man!  Why  is  n't 
Lyon  or  McClcllan  in  the  right  place?  After  all  the  dilly- 
dallying, you  are  going  to  be  thrashed  at  Manassas!" 

Such  were  the  very  first  greetings  I  met,  as  I  emerged  from 
Willard's,  after  breakfast,  on  Saturday,  July,  20th.  Whom 
could  they  be  from  but  that  amiable  old  sinner,  the  polyglot 
philosopher,  Count  Grolowski? 

"But,"  I  ventured  very  mildly  to  suggest,  "has  not  the 
General  been  waiting  for  sundry  things,  such  as  waggons  and 
ambulances,  and  for  needful  drilling  of  raw  recruits?" 

"Nonsense!  Napoleon  didn't  wait  for  waggons  when  he 
crossed  the  Alps,  and  did  n't  he  whip  the  Austrians?  " 

"  Oh !  of  course  you  know  best  about  these  things.  I  am  no 
warrior.  But  they  say  we  are  to  have  a  battle  in  earnest  to- 
morrow." 

"Yes." 


Bull  Run  309 

I  am  not  used  to  battles.  Indeed,  it  has  always  seemed  to 
me  that  bullets,  shells,  and  cannon-balls,  whistling  about 
one's  ears,  would  be  unpleasant.  I  have  even  imagined  that 
if  such  music  should  come  near  me,  I  might  prove  to  be  a 
coward,  and  might  be  tempted  to  change  my  position.  Then, 
again,  what  right  has  a  man  with  personal  and  other  responsi- 
bilities to  go  near  the  range  of  such  missiles?  Further,  and 
especially,  the  morrow  was  the  Sabbath.  If  our  generals  will 
fight  battles  on  that  day,  of  all  others,  they  may  monopolise 
the  responsibility.  Other  suggestions  rapidly  occurred  to  me. 
I  knew  that  good  and  true  men  were  with  our  army,  in  the 
hope  of  doing  good  in  the  moment  when  personal  aid  and 
sympathy  are  most  needed,  namely,  after  a  battle,  whether  of 
victory  or  defeat.  (The  latter  word,  by  the  way,  I  had  not 
noticed  in  our  dictionary.)  Well,  if  they  are  in  the  right  place 
for  usefulness,  and  I  can  join  them,  may  I  not  be  useful  too? 
And  is  it  curiosity  merely  which  draws  me  there? 

My  motives  may  or  may  not  be  thoroughly  scrutinised; 
but  the  above  and  some  other  considerations  satisfied  me  that, 
with  a  suitable  opportunity,  I  should  and  would  be  near  the 
battle-field.  If  our  men  are  to  be  led  prematurely  and  need- 
lessly to  a  bloody  conflict,  on  that  day  there  will  be  suffering, 
none  the  less.     So  I  walked  up  to  General  Mansfield's  office. 

"NO  PASSES  TO  VIRGINIA  TO-DAY." 

This  was.  the  notice  to  Mr.  Public.  In  my  special  favour, 
as  I  naively  imagined,  a  distinguished  autograph  was  pre- 
sented to  me,  reading  thus : 

"  Headquarters.  Military  Department, 

"  Washington,  July  20,  1861. 

"  Pass  Mr. three  days  over  the  bridges,  and  within  the 

original  lines  of  the  army.     By  order  of  General  Mansfield, 
commanding. 

" ,  Aide-de-Camp. 

(turn  over.)  " 

"It  is  understood  that  the  within-named  and  subscriber 
accepts  this  pass  on  his  word  of  honour  that  he  is,  and  will 


310  George  Palmer  Putnam 

be  ever,  loyal  to  the  United  States;  and  if  hereafter  found  in 
arms  against  the  Union,  or  in  any  way  aiding  her  enemies, 
the  penalty  will  be  death. 

"[Signed],     of ." 

[It  should  be  added  that  the  above  was  given  on  the  special 
request  of  a  Senator;  but  whether  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
them  are  not  given  on  more  doubtful  credentials,  deponent 
saith  not.] 

The  battle  was  not  to  be  reached  by  this,  and  modestly 
concluding  that  battles  were  specially  privileged  places,  I 
resigned  myself  without  a  murmur  to  a  simple  inspection  of 
the  lines  on  the  Potomac;  so,  with  suitable  bows  to  the  white- 
haired  yet  energetic-looking  General  Mansfield  and  his  busy 
aides,  and  after  a  brief  call  at  the  White  House  (where  the  polite 
private  secretary  informed  me  that  the  President  had  just 
gone  to  the  War  Department  to  meet  the  Cabinet),  and  with 
a  mere  glance  at  the  residence  of  that  grand  old  chieftain  who 
directs  our  armies,  idly  wondering  whether  he  was  then  pre- 
paring a  proclamation  to  be  issued  from  Richmond  on  the  fol- 
lowing Saturday  (for  General  Mansfield's  aide  had  assured  me 
we  should  be  in  the  rebel  capital  in  a  week),  and  after  a  call 
on  Mr.  Secretary  Chase,  with  a  distinguished  introduction, 
which,  being  untainted  by  any  claims  for  a  single  dime  of 
those  five  hundred  million  dollars,  was  most  kindly  received, 
in  spite  of  an  impertinent  young  Cerberus  whose  manners 
need  revising,  I  omnibused  down  the  Avenue.  Sensational 
glimpses  of  the  times  began  to  fall  in  my  way,  even  here. 
Sundry  talks  with  Washingtonians,  on  the  "past  and  future 
of  the  Republic,"  brought  curious  and  suggestive  remarks; 
suggestive,  as  much  as  anything  else,  of  the  sort  of  half-way 
Unionism,  and  yet  also  of  the  real  and  moderate  loyalty,  of 
the  Washingtonians. 

"Considering  how  quickly  and  suddenly  this  army  has 
been  collected,  the  widely  different  classes  of  men  composing 
it,  and  the  impossibility,  in  so  short  a  time,  that  the  chaff  could 
all  be  sifted  out,  I  say  that  the  behaviour  of  the  men  has  been 


Bxill  Run  3ii 

marvellously  creditable  so  far.  The  world  has  never  seen 
a  better  army  thus  quickly  raised."  Thus  spake  an  intelli- 
gent observer,  English  by  birth,  but  thirty  years  resident  in 
Washington,  and  well  qualified  to  speak  impartially. 

"The  world  hasn't  seen  a  worse.  I  've  been  insulted  by 
them  repeatedly." 

This  growl,  and  something  more,  came  from  a  sour-looking 
visitor,  who  began  to  wax  angry  in  the  discussion.  Here,  then, 
was  a  live  secessionist.  I  regarded  him  with  curious 
wonder. 

Just  then  a  drum  and  fife  on  the  Avenue  started  everybody 
to  the  doors.  A  squad  of,  say,  forty  soldiers,  a  part  of  them 
unarmed,  were  trudging  up  toward  the  Capitol.  Loyal 
friend,  with  a  few  long  steps,  reaches  the  leader,  hatless,  and 
returns  to  tell  us  that  they  have  brought  in  fifteen  Alabama 
prisoners,  who  are  bound  for  the  old  Capitol.  Secessionist 
looks  still  sourer,  and  goes  off  in  an  uncomfortable  frame  of 
mind. 

For  the  purpose  of  inspecting  and  revising  the  proceedings 
of  General  Scott,  and  of  our  7th  and  69th,  and  of  being 
able  to  certify  that  the  Capitol  is  safe,  Mr.  T.  and  I  passed 
the  afternoon  in  a  visit  to  our  Virginia  intrenchments.  Our 
passes  were  duly  respected  by  all  the  sentries  at  the  Long 
Bridge  and  beyond.  A  half-hour's  drive  along  the  picturesque 
southern  shore  of  the  Potomac,  in  full  view  of  our  straggling 
metropolis,  the  glorious  dome  of  the  Capitol,  still  unfinished, 
rising  like  a  marble  Mont  Blanc,  monarch  of  all  visible  struct- 
ures; the  broad  Potomac,  worthy  in  its  amplitude  if  not  in 
its  depth,  of  being  the  national  river;  the  long  spider's  web  of 
a  bridge,  narrow  and  shabby,  the  only  connecting  link  of  the 
national  metropolis  with  the  Old  Dominion;  the  distant 
heights  of  Georgetown,  studded  with  dwellings,  apparently 
of  West  End  aristocracy ;  and  at  every  turn  before  us,  either 
a  camp  or  a  picket — all  this  on  a  magnificent  afternoon,  with 
great  events  probably  imminent,  suggested  more  than  enough 
to  the  zeal  and  skill  and  hard  work  of  the  gallant  69th 
to  keep  us  awake.  Let  them  be  honoured.  Fort  Corcoran 
is  certainly  a  monument;  whether  it  will  prove  a  Gibraltar 


312  George  Palmer  Putnam 

when  fully  tested,  may  be  a  problem.  I  imagine  a  strong 
inducement  would  be  needed  to  join  the  assailing  columns  if 
they  do  ever  reach  its  vicinity.  The  officer  of  the  day  being 
invisible  at  the  moment,  the  inside  of  this  impromptu  fortress 
was  invisible  to  us,  the  sentries  requiring  a  special  command ; 
but  a  walk  around  the  outer  walls  revealed  the  essential  im- 
portance of  this  point  in  defence  of  our  capital.  We  retraced 
our  steps  down  the  river,  and  turned  up  the  road  through  the 
grove  which  surrounds  Arlington  House.  Another  camp, 
with  sentries,  somewhat  free  and  easy  in  general  aspect;  but 
the  enemy  is  out  of  sight,  and  why  should  n't  they  take  their 
ease  in  these  shady  groves  while  they  can?  What  a  superb 
prospect  from  the  lawn!  The  amiable  gossip  of  good  old 
Mr.  Custis  about  "the  chief"  might  be  imagined,  as  he  here 
gave  his  guests  that  glorious  sunset  (?)  view  of  the  nation's 
capital,  which  that  "chief"  had  planned,  as  it  stood  spread 
out  on  the  opposite  shores  of  the  "exulting  and  abounding 
river."  Into  the  mansion  itself  we  could  have  but  a  peep 
through  the  open  windows  of  the  apartments,  which  had  till 
yesterday  been  occupied  by  General  Dix  as  his  headquarters. 
Furniture  seemed  to  remain  as  General  Lee  had  left  it,  when  he 
abandoned  the  good  fame  of  his  father,  the  favourite  "Light- 
horse  Harry,"  whom  Washington  loved,  and  deserted  also  his 
confidential  post  near  the  revered  veteran  now  filling  Washing- 
ton's station,  and  crossed  the  Rubicon  to  join  the  armies  of 
the  nation's  enemies.  The  picture-frames  remained  on  the 
walls,  but  the  pictures  had  been  removed.  Was  n't  there  a 
moral  in  this?  But  what  a  picture  of  dilapidated  aristocracy 
does  the  exterior  of  the  mansion  and  the  out-houses  present ! 
— stucco  crumbling  away,  rotten  wooden  steps,  big  columns, 
and  small  ornaments,  all  "rather  out  of  repair" — it  all  seemed 
to  symbolise  old  Virginia  herself,  as  needing  an  infusion  of 
Yankee  energy  and  thrift.  As  we  looked  at  the  ambitious 
Grecian  portico  of  stuccoed  columns,  hugely  disproportioned 
to  the  house  behind,  I  could  n't  help  whispering  to  my  friend: 
' '  In  the  name  of  the  Prophet,  Figs ! "  But,  after  all,  it  was  sad 
to  think  of  all  the  associations  of  a  place  which  had  been  al- 
most classic  ground,  but  which  now,  carefully  preserved  by 


Bvill  R\in  313 

the  occupants,  as  it  evidently  is,  still  echoes  with  the  sounds 
of  the  camp,  and  the  "army  of  occupation." 

Nearer  the  Long  Bridge,  we  were  permitted  to  join  a  party 
accompanying  Governor  Morgan  and  staff,  mounted  and  in 
uniform,  just  closing  an  inspection  and  review  of  the  camp, 
and  the  works  there  erected,  commanding  the  river.  For  the 
Governor's  edification,  the  process  was  enacted  of  a  sudden 
alarm  of  the  enemy — the  garrison  springing  to  arms,  the  big 
guns  on  the  ramparts  placed  in  range  and  rapidly  fired,  the 
balls  and  shells  striking  the  river  in  a  way  which  should  be  a 
caution  to  a  hostile  approach.  The  cheering  of  the  garrison 
for  the  Governor  was  ringing  in  our  ears  as  we  recrossed  that 
shabby  old  shell  of  a  thing,  the  Long  Bridge,  a  full  moon 
lighting  up  the  Potomac,  and  the  marble  piles  and  "tented 
fields"  on  either  side.  Late  in  the  evening,  and  long  after  I 
had  dismissed  all  thoughts  of  it,  a  pass  was  handed  me,  per- 
mitting me  in  a  special  capacity  to  proceed  to  the  "Head- 
Quarters  of  the  Grand  Army  of  North-eastern  Virginia,  by 
authority  of  Lieutenant-General  Winfield  Scott,  by  order  of 
General  Mansfield,  commanding." 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  at  nine  o'clock  on  that  beautiful 
morning  we  were  quietly  moving  out  of  Alexandria  toward 
the  scene  of  the  expected  conflict.  We  were  in  the  cars  con- 
taining the  "De  Kalb  Regiment,"  Colonel  Von  Gilsa,  from 
New  York  City.  The  officers  and  men,  mostly  or  all  Germans, 
were  evidently  in  the  best  condition,  and  in  high  spirits ;  but 
there  was  a  remarkable  aspect  of  orderly  cheerfulness,  good 
feeling,  and  even  politeness  among  them.  Many  of  this  regi- 
ment, both  officers  and  men,  had  seen  active  service  and  hard 
fighting  in  Europe;  and  they  had  a  decidedly  martial  aspect, 
the  officers  especially.  As  we  approached  Fairfax  Station, 
they  began  to  sing  our  national  airs,  German  and  English 
words  being  oddly  mixed  by  the  different  voices.  My  friend 
started  "  My  Country,"  and  in  this  they  all  joined  with  a  will. 
The  last  verse  was  interrupted  by  the  stoppage  of  the  train. 
Vienna  just  occurred  to  me  for  a  second,  but  in  another  second 
we  found  the  obstruction  to  be  only  the  dead  weight  of  trees 


314  George  Palmer  Putnam 

and  sand  which  the  rebels  had  piled  on  the  track  in  their  rapid 
retreat  a  day  or  two  before.  The  cars  were  quickly  evacuated, 
and  the  regiment  pushed  along  on  foot  on  the  track,  picking 
blackberries  by  the  way,  until,  half-a-mile  farther,  we  reached 
Fairfax  Station.  This  is  a  single  wooden  house  of  two  stories, 
situated  in  a  thickly  wooded  and  picturesque  glen,  and  (as 
we  soon  learned)  about  three  miles  from  Fairfax  Court-House. 
Part  of  a  regiment  was  here  encamped,  with  pickets  extended 
on  all  sides.  A  well  of  good  water  was  the  most  essential 
feature  of  defence,  but  traces  of  the  deserted  camps  of  the 
enemy  were  visible  in  several  places.  The  De  Kalbs  here 
rested,  and  soon  fraternised  with  their  comrades  and  prede- 
cessors— Michiganders,  I  believe.     It  was  now  about  ten  a.m. 

"Is  that  cannonading  which  we  hear?"  was  our  first 
question  to  an  officer  of  the  advance. 

"You  may  say  that,  and  of  the  heaviest  kind." 

"How  long  have  you  heard  it?" 

"Since  six  this  morning.  The  greatest  battle  ever  fought 
on  this  continent  is  now  going  on." 

We  were  probably  five  miles  north-west  of  the  firing.  The 
Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad  continued  clear  before  us  to 
Manassas  Junction.  Our  party  of  four,  pending  the  stay  of 
the  regiment  for  orders,  walked  forward  on  the  track  to  hear 
the  firing  more  clearly.  After  walking  a  mile  or  so,  we  found 
an  army  lieutenant  sitting  on  the  track,  where  a  vista  through 
the  wood  brought  the  sounds  more  distinctly  on  the  ear. 
"B-o-o-m!  B-o-o-m!  B-o-o-m!"  The  officer  was  listening 
carefully,  and  taking  notes,  which  he  was  sending  back  every 
half -hour  to  General  Scott.  He  was  anxiously  grave,  for  he 
thought  the  fire  was  gaining  our  rear. 

Two  companions  pushed  on  round  a  curve  of  the  track 
through  the  woods. 

"How  far  is  it  to  Manassas  Junction?"  I  asked  of  one  of 
the  lieutenant's  squad. 

"About  five  miles." 

"We  are  nearer  the  Junction,  then,  than  our  army  is?" 

"Yes." 

Mr.  T.  agreed  with  me  that  discretion  seemed  to  prompt  a 


Bull  Rvin  315 

retrograde  movement  to  our  main  body,  or  at  least  to  our 
gallant  regiment.  So  we  turned.  The  haversack  with  the 
rations  remained  with  my  discreet  companion.  It  was  sub- 
sequently useful  to  more  than  ourselves. 

A  fresh  sentry  at  the  camp  rather  doubtfully  scrutinised  our 
pass  as  we  re-entered.  Still  the  distant  firing  continued,  and 
still  the  regiment  had  no  orders  to  move.  In  a  few  minutes 
we  formed  two  of  another  party  escorted  by  a  soldier,  who 
proposed  to  take  a  "Virginia  short-cut"  through  the  woods, 
the  nearest  way  to  the  battle.  Reflection,  however,  began  to 
offer  some  doubts  of  the  prudence  of  a  walk  through  secession 
woods  so  near  the  enemy's  camp ;  so  we  decided  upon  the  longer 
but  surer  triangle  of  the  main  road,  via  Fairfax  Court-House 
and  Centre ville. 

A  farm-house,  with  the  useful  appendage  of  a  well,  was 
visible  on  the  slope  of  a  hill  not  very  distant ;  and  we  diverged 
toward  it.  We  were  very  civilly  received  by  the  family,  who 
appeared  to  show  a  rather  strange  mixture  of  colours.  The 
two  distinct  races  of  white  and  black  were  both  represented, 
the  first  by  a  deputation  from  the  Celtic  branch,  for  they 
didn't  seem  to  claim  kinship  with  the  F.  F.  V.;  but  be- 
tween the  two  extremes  were  pickaninnies  of  various  shades 
of  burnt  umber,  and  one,  a  curly-headed  cherub  nearly  white, 
told  me  her  name  was  "Virginia  Angelica."  The  people  of 
the  house,  white  and  black,  of  all  ages,  seemed  to  be  on  per- 
fectly easy  equality,  sitting  side  by  side  on  the  door-step,  and 
jointly  offering  us  some  pure  cold  water.  B-o-o-m !  B-o-o-m ! 
Therefore,  we  did  not  stop  to  learn  their  history  or  politics. 

Yet,  why  did  n't  I  ask  them  how  they  wanted  the  battle  to 
end?  This  county  of  Fairfax,  some  twenty-five  years  ago, 
received  a  good  many  farmers  emigrating  from  Dutchess 
County,  New  York.     Is  that  stock  still  loyal? 

A  mile  farther  and  we  reach  a  church,  about  thirty  feet 
square,  built  of  brick.  It  is  in  a  little  churchyard,  in  which 
were  eleven  new-made  graves.  Our  soldier  said  these  were 
filled  from  the  secession  camp,  the  deserted  site  of  which  was 
a  few  rods  off.  Inside,  the  church  was  dismantled  and  dila- 
pidated.    It  had  evidently  been  used  as  an  hospital  by  the 


316  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

Virginia  troops;  a  large  stove,  that  had  served  for  cooking, 
was  tumbled  over  in  the  aisle.  The  building  is  probably  a 
century  old;  and  doubtless  here,  as  well  as  at  the  noted  Pow- 
heek  church,  a  few  miles  off,  Washington  himself  had  often 
sat  in  those  square  high-backed  pews,  and  had  knelt  before 
this  little  altar,  for  Mount  Vernon  is  not  many  miles  distant. 
A  supplement  to  the  Creed  and  Commandments  over  the 
altar,  in  gilt  letters,  reads  thus:  "Prayers  without  attention 
are  like  a  body  without  a  soul."  Behind  the  earthwork  of 
the  deserted  camp — (the  tents,  by  the  way,  seemed  to  have 
been  made  of  bushes,  in  the  absence  of  canvas)  I  picked  up 
some  stray  cards,  letters,  and  notes  of  "little  use  except  to  the 
owner."  Walking  on,  we  presently  met  three  or  four  of  the 
4th  Michigan,  tramping  over  from  the  Court-House  battalion 
to  that  of  Fairfax  Station.  Any  tidings?  "No;  but  just 
there  on  the  hill  you  can  see  the  smoke  over  the  trees."  Here, 
by  the  way,  the  "Blue  Ridge"  mountains  were  plainly  visible. 

The  country  continued  to  be  gently  undulating,  well  wooded, 
and  picturesque ;  but  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  and  of  the  day 
was  almost  lost  in  thoughts  of  the  conflict,  and  in  the  rather 
frequent  annoyance  of  carrion  by  the  wayside.  About 
twelve  we  reached  the  little  village  which  bears  the  sounding 
name  of  Fairfax  Court-House — so  recently  noted  for  the  charge 
of  the  very  "light  brigade"  of  Tompkins's  Cavalry.  A  small 
church  of  wood,  an  ordinary  country  tavern,  perhaps  fifty  or 
sixty  houses,  and  the  Court-House  itself,  make  up  the  village. 
This  latter  edifice,  very  like  a  New-England  village  academy, 
built  of  brick,  and  in  fair  preservation,  stands  in  a  green 
square  in  the  centre  of  the  village. 

Our  camp  (4th  Michigan)  was  spread  on  the  green,  ready 
to  challenge  all  comers,  but  the  big  autograph  on  our  pass 
seemed  to  be  known.  This  being  on  the  main  road  from 
Washington  to  Centreville,  a  vehicle,  or  a  vacant  place  in  one, 
to  headquarters  was  among  the  possibilities;  but  the  road 
was  as  quiet  as  if  armies  and  battles  were  unheard  of. 

A  glance  at  the  peculiar  interior  of  the  Court-House,  and 
of  a  lawyer's  office  opposite,  where  the  occupant  had  decamped 
so  suddenly  that  some  bushels  of  letters,  deeds,  etc.,  lay  scat- 


Bvill  Run  317 

tered  on  the  floor  in  most  admired  disorder ;  a  brief  discussion 
with  a  somewhat  Yankeeish  native,  who  proposed,  for  reason- 
able consideration,  to  drive  us  to  Centre ville;  and  my  friend 
and  I  walked  on,  leaving  our  Philadelphia  companions  to 
overtake  us  in  the  proposed  vehicle.  If  that  vehicle  ever 
started,  will  our  good  friends  let  us  know? 

As  we  walked  on  up  the  street  which  Tompkins  so  foolishly 
made  famous,  the  handsome  face  of  one  of  the  captains  seemed 
familiar  as  he  passed,  and  I  turned  to  say  as  much.   "  Oh!  yes. 

I  am  'one  of  the  trade'  at  A ,  Michigan.     You  always  see 

me  at  the  Trade  Sale."  "Thus,"  I  moralised  slightly,  "thus 
are  we  Americans  always  ready  when  our  country  calls." 

I  hope  to  learn  at  the  next  T.  S.  how  and  when  Captain 

and  his  command  evacuated  Fairfax  Court-House. 

One  o'clock  and  more — so  we  trudge  on — a  full  hour  lost, 
and  the  great  event  of  the  day  before  us.  Why  should  we  be 
so  slow  in  reaching  it?  was  the  query  then  as  now;  but  these 
little  incidents,  separately  of  the  most  trivial  kind,  together 
make  up  a  picture  of  that  day  in  "Dixie."  Next  group  on 
the  road:  enter  two  soldiers  and  a  doctorial-looking  com- 
panion, overtaking  us  and  also  "bound  South."  My 
companion  soon  elicits  their  geographical  status. 

"Second  Rhode  Island." 

"Ah!    from  my  State!    And  do  you  know ,  and , 

and ,  in  the  2nd?" 

"Oh!  yes;  that  's  Greene,"  says  the  surgeon,  nodding 
toward  the  gentlemanly-looking  soldier  ahead  of  us.  "He 
was  in  the  hospital  at  Washington;  positive  orders  not  to 
stir  from  it;  but  heard  there  was  to  be  a  battle,  tumbled  on 
his  uniform,  seized  his  musket,  walked  twenty  miles,  and  here 
he  is." 

It  was  a  grandson  of  the  great  general  of  our  first  revolu- 
tion, and  a  cousin  of  our  friend  the  professor  and  author.  The 
old  pluck  has  n't  died  out  yet.  So  we  plod  on,  mutually  in- 
troduced, and  with  plenty  of  talk  to  beguile  the  way.  The 
day  still  delightfully  cool,  bright  and  airy,  the  road  somewhat 
dusty,  but  still  deserted  and  quiet:  so  up  to  about  three 
o'clock  p.m.     The  low,  rumbling,  booming  sound  of  the  distant 


318  George  Palmer  Putnam 

artillery  was  again  distinct,  and  even  the  rattling  of  musketry 
in  platoons  could  be  faintly  distinguished.  Since  ten  a.m.  we 
had  been  going  round  the  battle,  now  we  approached  it  direct. 

It  was  nearly  half-past  three  when  we  met  the  first  carriage 
of  visitors  returning  to  Washington  in  moderate  pace. 

"How  goes  the  battle?"  (eager  question). 

"All  right.  We  are  beating  them  and  driving  them  back. 
The  day  is  ours ! ' ' 

Another  and  another  returning  vehicle — same  report.  The 
interest  increased,  but  we  were  only  calmly  excited.  A  doubt 
about  the  success  of  our  army  had  scarcely  occurred  to  either 
of  us ;  none  at  least  had  been  uttered.  But  now  we  knew  that 
the  most  fearful  struggle  this  nation  had  ever  known  was  just 
being  decided,  and  the  victory — how  could  it  be  otherwise 
than  on  our  side — the  side  of  justice  and  freedom  and  good 
government — nay,  the  cause  involving  our  national  existence 
itself  and  the  institutions  of  our  fathers,  against  wholesale 
treason  and  usurpation  and  groundless  rebellion,  urged  on  by 
unprincipled  and  ambitious  leaders  to  strike  the  very  heart 
of  the  Republic?     Victory  was  ours,  of  course. 

Another  and  another  party  from  the  field  returning  home; 
reports  all  the  same:  the  rebels  are  driven  back.  Personal 
friends  among  these  visitors,  and  some  well  known  in  public 
life:  Senator  Wilson,  Hon.  Caleb  Lyon,  etc.  One  on  horse- 
back, Mr.  S ,  said  to  me  about  four  o'clock:  "I  am  going 

to  send  a  despatch  about  the  victory.  If  you  stay  on  the 
field,  I  will  meet  you  there  to-morrow  at  headquarters." 

"Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes." 

Five  minutes  after,  an  army  officer  on  horseback,  apparently 
on  special  business,  and  riding  much  faster  than  those  who  had 
passed,  whirled  by  in  such  hot  haste  as  would  n't  stay  question. 
He  looked  anything  but  jubilant,  and  we  just  managed  to 
entice  from  him  four  muttered  words:  "Bad  as  can  be!" 
Away  he  galloped.  This  paper  aims  at  relating  facts;  the 
dramatic  poetry  and  mental  philosophy  are  waived  in  favour 
of  the  reader. 

We  pushed  on  toward  the  field.    Vehicles  still  passed  modcr- 


Bull  Run  319 

ately,  but  their  occupants  appeared  unconscious  of  disaster 
or  of  haste.  The  first  indication  of  disturbed  nerves  met  us 
in  the  shape  of  a  soldier,  musketless  and  coatless,  clinging  to 
the  bare  back  of  a  great  bony  waggon-horse — sans  reins,  sans 
everything.  Man  and  beast  came  panting  along,  each  looking 
exhausted,  and  just  as  they  pass  us,  the  horse  tumbles  down 
helpless  in  the  road,  and  his  rider  tumbles  off  and  hobbles 
away,  leaving  the  horse  to  his  own  care  and  his  own  reflections. 
Still  we  pushed  on. 

About  half-past  four,  possibly  nearer  five,  Centreville  was 
still  (as  it  proved)  a  mile  or  so  ahead  of  us.  We  reached  the 
top  of  a  moderate  rise  in  the  road,  and  as  we  plodded  on  down 
its  slope,  I  turned  a  glance  back  along  the  road  we  had  passed; 
a  thousand  bayonets  were  gleaming  in  the  sunlight,  and  a  full 
fresh  regiment  were  overtaking  us  in  double-quick  step, 
having  come  up  (as  I  soon  after  learned)  from  Vienna.  They 
reached  the  top  of  the  hill  just  as  we  began  to  pick  our  way 
across  the  brook  which  flooded  the  road  in  the  little  valley 
below.  At  this  moment,  looking  up  the  ascent  ahead  of  us, 
toward  the  battle,  we  saw  army  waggons,  private  vehicles, 
and  some  six  or  eight  soldiers  on  horseback,  rushing  down  the 
hill  in  front  of  us  in  exciting  confusion,  and  a  thick  cloud  of 
dust.  The  equestrian  soldiers,  it  could  be  seen  at  a  glance, 
were  only  impromptu  horsemen,  and  their  steeds  were  all 
unused  to  this  melting  mode,  most  of  them  being  bare-backed. 
Their  riders  appeared  to  be  in  haste,  for  some  reason  best 
known  to  themselves.  Among  them,  and  rather  leading  the 
van,  was  a  solitary  horseman  of  different  aspect:  figure  some- 
what stout,  face  round  and  broad,  gentlemanly  in  aspect,  but 
somewhat  flushed  and  impatient,  not  to  say  anxious,  in  ex- 
pression. Under  a  broad-brimmed  hat  a  silk  handkerchief 
screened  his  neck  like  a  havelock.  He  rode  a  fine  horse,  still 
in  good  condition,  and  his  motto  seemed  to  be  "Onward" — 
whether  in  personal  alarm  or  not,  it  would  be  impertinent  to 
say.  His  identity  was  apparent  at  a  glance.  As  his  horse 
reached  the  spot  where  "we  five"  stood  together,  thus  sud- 
denly headed  off  by  the  stampede,  the  regiment  behind  us 
had  reached  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  the  Colonel,  a  large  and 


320  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

resolute-looking  man,   had   dashed  his  horse   ahead   of  his 
men,  until  he  was  face  to  face  with  the  stampeders. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  shouted  the  Colonel  in  a  tone 
that  "meant  something."  "Halt!"  (to  his  men).  "Form 
across  the  road.  Stop  every  one  of  them!"  Then  turning 
to  the  white-faced  soldiers  from  the  field,  and  brandishing  his 
sword,  "Back!  back!  the  whole  of  ye!  Back!  I  say,"  and 
their  horses  in  an  instant  are  making  a  reverse  movement  up 
the  hill,  while  the  army  waggons  stand  in  statu  quo:  the  thou- 
sand muskets  of  the  regiment,  in  obedience  rather  to  the  action 
than  to  the  word  of  the  Colonel,  being  all  pointed  at  the  group 
in  front,  in  the  midst  of  which  we  stand.  All  this  and  much 
more  passed  in  much  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it. 

"But,  sir,  if  you  will  look  at  this  paper,"  thus  spake  our 
distinguished  visitor  in  the  advance  to  the  determined  and 
now  excited  Colonel,  "you  will  see  that  I  am  a  civilian,  a 
spectator  merely,  and  that  this  is  a  special  pass"  (here  I  half- 
imagined  a  doubt  of  the  character  of  the  regiment  flashed  in 
for  a  second),  "a  pass  from  General  Scott." 

The  manner  and  the  tone  indicated  that  the  speaker  and 
his  errand  were  entitled  to  attention. 

"Pass  this  man  up,"  shouted  the  Colonel  somewhat  bluntly 
and  impatient  of  delay ;  and  on  galloped  the  representative  of 
the  Thunderer  toward  Washington. 

[Query:  Will  he  write  us  down  so  many  runaways,  or  has  he 
seen  the  true  spirit  on  our  side?] 

Now,  the  art  of  bragging  and  the  habit  of  exaggeration  are 
vices  to  which  all  we  Americans  are  but  too  much  addicted. 

But  if  I  say  that  my  friend  T and  myself  stood  in  the  midst 

of  this  melle  much  more  impressed  with  its  ludicrous  pictur- 
esqueness  than  with  any  idea  of  personal  danger,  my  friend  at 
least  would  agree  that  this  was  the  simple  truth.  The  brief 
parley  of  "Our  Own  Correspondent"  suggested  merely  the 
thought  that  it  was  a  pity  such  a  stranger  should  be  annoyed 

by  such  a  crowd;  I  'd  better  say:  "Colonel,  this  is  Mr. 

of  the  London ;  pray  don't  detain  him."     However,  this 

all  passed  in  a  twinkling.  Our  two  soldier-friends  and  the 
surgeon  had  pushed  on  between  the  waggons  toward  the  field ; 


Bull  Rxin  321 

the  distant  firing  had  ceased ;  the  waggons  quietly  stood  still ; 

so  T and  I  passed  up  through  the  regiment,  which  they 

told  us  was  the  1st  or  2d  New  Jersey,  Col.  Montgomery, 
from  the  camp  at  Vienna ;  and  we  sat  down  comfortably  near 
a  house  at  the  top  of  the  hill  and  waited  to  see  "what  next?" 
In  less  than  twenty  minutes  the  road  was  cleared  and  regu- 
lated; the  army  waggons  halted,  still  in  line,  on  one  side  of  the 
road ;  the  civilians  were  permitted  to  drive  on  as  fast  as  they 
pleased  toward  Washington;  the  regiment  deployed  into  a 
field  on  the  opposite  hill  and  formed  in  line  of  battle  command- 
ing the  road;  a  detachment  was  sent  on  to  "clear  the  track" 
toward  Centreville ;  and  presently  the  regiment  itself  marched 
up  the  road  in  the  direction  of  the  field  of  conflict.  It  was 
now  about  half-past  five. 

If  we  two  were  not  "cowards  on  instinct,"  we  might  still 
be  indifferent  to  danger  through  mere  ignorance.  This  is 
intended  to  be  a  simple  and  truthful  narrative  only  of  what 
we  saw  and  did,  not  a  philosophical  analysis  or  an  imaginative 
dissertation.  The  character,  cause,  extent,  and  duration  of 
that  strange  panic  have  already  become  an  historical  problem. 
Therefore,  I  specially  aim  to  avoid  all  inferences,  guesses, 
and  generalities,  and  to  state  with  entire  simplicity  just  what 
was  done  and  said  where  we  were.  Of  what  passed  on  the 
battle-field,  or  anywhere  else,  this  witness  cannot  testify:  he 
can  only  tell,  with  reasonable  accuracy,  what  passed  before 
his  eyes,  or  repeat  what  he  heard  directly  from  those  who  had 
just  come  singly  from  the  fight  or  the  panic;  so  much  will  go 
for  what  it  is  worth  and  no  more.  The  separate  sketches 
from  all  the  different  points  of  view  are  needed  for  a  complete 
picture,  or  for  a  conclusive  answer  to  the  question:  "Did  all 
our  army  run  away?" 

For  us,  two  individuals  who  had  not  seen  the  battle  or  the 
first  of  the  panic,  but  only  this  tail-end  of  it,  no  discussion  of 
the  matter  at  the  moment  was  thought  of.  We  did  n't  ask 
each  other,  or  anybody  else,  whether  it  was  safe  to  stay  there, 
or  to  go  near  the  main  army.  But  if  the  question  had  been 
asked,  our  reply,  merely  echoing  our  thoughts  at  the  moment, 
would  have  been  thus : 


322  George  Palmer  Putnam 

"We  have  lost  the  day;  our  army,  or  a  part  of  it,  after  a 
sturdy  fight  of  nine  hours  against  the  great  odds  of  a  superior 
force,  strongly  intrenched  behind  masked  batteries,  and  after 
an  actual  victory,  have  fallen  back  at  the  last  moment,  and 
a  part  of  one  wing,  with  the  waggons  and  outriders,  have  started 
from  the  field  in  a  sudden  and  unaccountable  panic.  But  so 
long  as  we  still  have  forty  thousand  men  between  us  and  the 
enemy,  more  than  half  of  them  fresh,  in  reserve,  at  Centreville ; 
so  long  as  this,  the  only  main  road  Potomac-wise  from  the 
field,  is  now  quiet  and  clear,  and  'order  reigns'  at  Centreville, 
where  our  main  body  will  rest,  what  is  the  use  of  being  in  a 
hurry?  Let  us  rest  awhile  here,  and  then  take  our  time  and 
go  on  either  south  or  north,  as  the  appearance  of  things 
may  warrant."  Briefly  and  distinctly,  no  worse  view  of  the 
matter  was  indicated  by  anything  we  saw  or  heard  while 
waiting  two  hours  in  that  very  spot  in  the  road  where  the 
panic  was  first  stopped. 

This  view  of  "the  situation"  was  scarcely  thought  out  and 
not  uttered,  and  we  were  just  comforting  ourselves  with  "an 
old  oaken  bucket  which  hung  by  a  well"  near  the  fence,  the 
rather  cross-looking  Virginian  occupant  of  the  house  eyeing 
us  not  quite  amiably  from  his  passive  position  on  the  door- 
step, when  some  of  the  straggling  soldiers,  who  had  eluded 
the  Jerseymen  probably  by  leaping  the  fences,  began  to  show 
themselves.  Many  of  them  were  sound  in  body,  but  appar- 
ently fagged  out.  Most  of  them  were  wholly  unarmed;  some 
in  shirt-sleeves,  and  without  coats  or  hats.  Many  were  more 
or  less  wounded :  one  hit  on  the  forehead,  another  in  the  neck, 
another  in  the  leg  (none  badly  wounded  could  have  limped 
so  far  on  foot),  and  a  few  were  from  the  hospital,  sick  and 
hardly  able  to  stand  up.  The  first  word  of  all  of  them  was : 
"  Water!  Is  there  any  water  here?"  They  all  said  they  had 
eaten  nothing  since  yesterday,  nor  tasted  a  drop  of  liquid, 
save  only  the  muddy  water  of  puddles  by  the  roadside;  y<  i 
they  had  been  all  day  long  in  the  hardest  of  the  fight.  Doubt- 
ful this,  perhaps,  in  some  cases,  but  probably  true  of  the  Ells- 
worth Zouaves,  of  whom  about  a  dozen  were  visible,  all 
apparently  worn  out  with  work  of  the  hardest  kind.     (No 


B\ill  Run  323 

other  New  York  men  were  seen  by  us  during  the  night.) 
Their  stories  of  charges  in  the  "imminent  deadly  breach" 
of  masked  batteries  would  have  been  less  credible  if  they  had 
not  been  individual,  just  from  the  field,  and  with  no  chance 
for  mutual  buncombe.  "We  've  lost  half  our  men,"  more 
than  one  of  them  said,  perhaps  honestly;  but  the  sequel  was 
"not  so":  perhaps  one  hundred  were  left  behind.  "We  've 
been  badly  cut  up,"  said  one  from  another  quarter;  "the 
New-York  71st  are  half  cut  to  pieces";  and  so  they  talked, 
one  after  the  other.  Revived  with  a  long  tug  at  our  nectar 
and  ambrosia  in  the  old  bucket,  which  was  vigorously  rolled 
up  and  down  on  its  iron  chain,  they  rested,  washed,  breathed 
long  and  well,  and  trudged  on  toward  Fairfax.  One  poor 
fellow,  a  slender  youth  of  eighteen,  too  tender  altogether  for 
a  working  army,  panted  up  to  the  well  and  seemed  too  weak 
to  hold  himself  up.  "I  was  sick  in  the  hospital,"  said  he; 
"they  fired  into  it  and  killed  several  there,  and  I  had  to  run  as 
well  as  I  could."  I  omitted  to  take  his  name,  poor  fellow; 
it  would  be  comfortable  to  know  he  reached  home.  So  we 
pulled  the  bucket  up  and  down,  thankful  that  in  this  easy  way 
we  could  give  aid  and  comfort  to  these  panting,  thirsty,  fagged 
defenders  of  their  country's  flag,  and  never  doubting  they  had 
honestly  done  their  best. 

Meanwhile  an  army  waggon  had  been  standing  since  we  first 
met  the  panic  in  the  same  spot  before  this  house.  I  note 
this  particular  waggon,  lettered  "Co.  H,  3d  Regt.,  Me.," 
because  it  is  noteworthy  that  it  stood  in  line  in  one  place  all 
these  two  hours ;  and  the  driver  said,  in  answer  to  my  question, 
that  he  "should  move  on  as  soon  as  he  had  orders."  As  this 
is  the  regiment  of  Col.  Howard  of  West  Point,  whom  I  (as 
one  of  those  "reception  committees")  had  learned  to  respect 
and  admire  in  New  York,  I  talked  with  the  teamster  about 
the  doings  of  the  day  and  of  the  Colonel,  who  was  reported 
killed.  During  the  brief  panic,  he  had,  like  his  neighbours, 
thrown  overboard  all  his  cargo,  except  five  bags  of  oats.  So, 
on  these  bags  we  persuaded  him  to  spread  six  of  the  wounded 
soldiers,  to  be  jolted  over  the  road,  in  the  absence  of  ambu- 
lances, which  at  this  place  at  least  were  invisible.     When  he 


324  George  Palmer  Putnam 

finally  started  homeward,  with  the  rest  of  the  teams,  about 
seven,  or  near  sunset,  the  line  having  been  ordered  to  "move 
on,"  there  was  still  room  for  us  in  a  corner;  but  soon  other 
wounded  soldiers  were  overtaken,  and  we  boosted  them  into 
our  places  and  took  to  our  feet.  During  the  few  minutes  we 
were  in  the  waggon  a  new  panic  was  raised.  The  stragglers  in 
the  road  suddenly  scampered  over  the  fences  to  the  woods, 
and  the  teamsters  whipped  their  horses  into  a  furious  run  for 
some  five  minutes,  the  dust  flying  so  thickly  that  we  could 
scarcely  see  each  other.  The  first  idea  naturally  pointed  to 
the  Black  Horse  Cavalry,  who  must  be  cutting  us  off!  It 
was  now  nearly  dark.  The  two  muskets  still  left  among  our 
six  wounded  companions  were  quickly  in  rest  for  a  shot  at 
the  enemy ;  but  a  moment  more  disclosed  a  couple  of  platoons 
ahead,  stopping  everything  on  the  road.  These  quickly 
proved  to  be  a  detachment  of  our  4th  Michigan  from  Fairfax 
Court-House,  sent  forward  to  head  off  all  sound-bodied 
fugitives  and  send  them  back  to  their  regiments:  hence  the 
scamper  over  the  fences.  Only  by  this  manoeuvre  could  any 
soldiers  pass  the  two  reserves  and  reach  the  Potomac.  On 
the  road  every  man  was  stopped  and  turned  back,  excepting 
the  wounded  and  the  teamsters  with  their  waggons.  As  to 
the  civilians,  they  had  long  ago  disappeared  on  the  safe  side ; 
we  saw  but  one  besides  ourselves  after  sunset,  until  we  reached 
the  pickets  near  the  Court-House,  about  nine  o'clock  p.m. 
Here  again,  returning  soldiers  were  still  stopped  and  turned 
back  at  this  time,  and  as  late,  certainly,  as  ten  o'clock,  or  six 
hours  after  the  retreat  began.  Could  a  couple  of  platoons 
turn  back  a  whole  army?  The  waggons  rolled  slowly  into  the 
village,  and  for  an  hour,  or  more,  I  noticed  the  team  of  our 
friend  of  "  Co.  H,  3d  Regt.,  Me., "  being  in  its  place  in  the  line, 
still  standing  quietly  opposite  the  Court-House. 

The  contents  of  my  friend's  haversack  had  been  nearly 
exhausted,  in  bits  given  to  the  hungry  men  from  the  battle; 
so  we  thought  a  little  supper  would  not  be  amiss.  The  tavern, 
an  average  specimen  of  a  fifth-rate  village-inn,  yet  claiming  a 
higher  grade,  probably,  as  the  hostelry  of  the  County  Court, 
stands  right  opposite  the  Court-House,  on  the  main  road  to 


B\ill  K\in  325 

Washington.  The  tea-table  was  still  uncleared,  and  cold  meat 
yet  remained  for  the  wayfarer;  so  we  took  seats  without 
question,  and  a  couple  of  coloured  servants  presently  brought 
us  some  fresh  tea  and  coffee — such  as  they  were — and  even 
took  pains  to  bake  us  a  warm  blackberry-cake.  (These  tri- 
vialities are  only  recorded  as  obvious  indications  of  a  deliberate 
state  of  things  rather  than  of  a  race  from  an  enemy.)  While 
we  sipped  our  tea,  a  stranger  joined  us,  saying  calmly,  by  way 
of  introduction:  "My  son  has  been  wounded  in  the  battle; 
I  've  just  brought  him  here — wish  I  could  get  him  something 
that  would  taste  like  tea."  We  left  him,  sending  an  earnest 
message  to  the  landlady:  "Would  pay  anything  she  pleased." 
A  youth  of  twenty,  civil  and  gentlemanly  in  manner,  here 
appeared  to  represent  the  house. 

"How  much  is  our  supper,  sir?" 

"Twenty-five  cents  each." 

This  moderate  demand  thankfully  paid,  I  remarked: 
"Probably  you  have  no  beds  to  give  us?" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  think  I  have." 

We  could  scarcely  expect  this  comfort,  for  the  house  is 
small,  and  strangers  rather  abounded  just  now. 

"Thank  you ;  we  '11  look  about  a  little.  Pray  keep  the  room 
for  us." 

Among  the  groups  of  talkers  about  the  door,  we  noticed  a 
decisive  and  emphatic-looking  gentleman  who  was  addressed 
by  another  as  Senator  Wade.  He  was  reviewing  some  of  the 
day's  incidents,  and  I  afterward  learned  he  had,  with  his 
friends,  done  excellent  service  in  stopping  part  of  the  panic 
and  stampede.  Civilians  were  not  all  useless.  The  Senator 
seemed  to  be  intending  a  return  to  Centreville  next  morning, 
and  meanwhile  proposed  to  his  friends  to  rest  comfortably 
in  their  carriage.  This  was  about  eleven  o'clock ;  waggons  still 
at  rest;  as  many  soldiers  about  the  place  as  I  had  seen  at  noon, 
but  here  and  there  a  poor  fellow  would  come  in  from  battle- 
ward  inquiring  for  the  hospital.  Everything  warranted  an 
off-hand  verification  of  my  first  impression — that  is,  that 
the  army  had  rested  and  would  stay  at  Centreville,  and 
the  waggons  and   stragglers   would   stay  here.      Even  this 


326  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

scarcely  seemed  worth  asking:  we  did  n't  imagine  anything 
else. 

About  eleven  o'clock  our  civil  young  host  politely  lighted 
us  to  a  very  good  room,  in  which  was  a  nice  double-bed  and 
a  single  cot. 

"We  shall  leave  early;  we  '11  pay  for  the  room  now,  if  you 
please.     How  much?" 

"Twenty-five  cents  each.  But  I  may  have  to  disturb  you, 
gentlemen,  to  put  some  one  in  that  other  bed,  for  you  see  we 
are  cramped  for  room." 

"Certainly;  we  hardly  expected  a  bed  ourselves.  We'll 
lock  the  door,  but  any  one  you  send  shall  be  admitted." 

"Good-night,  gentlemen." 

"Good-night,  sir." 

Much  less  courteous  hosts  are  to  be  found  in  our  own  Yankee 
land.  By  the  way,  the  urgent  message  of  the  father  of  the 
wounded  soldier  had  finally  produced  the  landlady,  a  tall 
straight  specimen  of  a  Virginia  dame,  lofty-capped,  stately, 
and  somewhat  cross ;  and  I  could  n't  blame  her,  under  the 
circumstances.  I  hope  she  produced  her  best  Oolong,  if  not 
her  Gunpowder. 

We  undressed,  and  were  soon  comfortably  stowed  in  the 
amply  large  bed,  not  omitting  our  thanks  to  God  for  our 
preservation,  yet  not  very  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of 
escaping  any  peculiar  danger.  As  we  lay  talking  of  the  day's 
events,  the  expected  knock  came,  and  our  young  host  intro- 
duced an  officer  in  uniform  to  occupy  the  other  bed.  He 
proved  to  be  a  Pennsylvanian,  who  had  been  only  a  spectator 
of  the  conflict.  He  told  us  of  the  death  of  Col.  Cameron  and 
of  several  incidents  of  the  day.  We  talked  to  each  other 
across  the  room  for  some  twenty  minutes,  and  then  "tired 
nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep,"  overtook  us  all.  At 
any  rate,  when  I  rose  at  half-past  one,  both  my  companion 
and  the  officer  were  "as  sound  as  a  top."  I  had  for  an  hour 
noticed  confused  talking  of  soldiers  under  our  open  window, 
and  more  arrivals  seemed  apparent;  but  the  only  order  I 
heard  was:     "Second  Wisconsin,  fall  in!" 

"T ,"  said  I,  "I  think  you  'd  better  wake  up.     It  's  a 


Bull  Run  327 

moonlight  night,  and  walking  will  be  more  comfortable  than 
in  the  daytime;  besides,  I  want  to  reach  Washington  early, 
and  we  can  catch  the  seven-o'clock  boat  from  Alexandria." 

Rather  reluctantly  (for  he  was  very  tired)  my  friend  got 
up :  and  we  were  comfortably  dressed  and  in  the  road  between 
two  and  three  o'clock.  Our  roommate  from  the  Keystone 
State  we  left  sound  asleep,  for  we  had  no  authority  to  disturb 
him.  If  "this  meets  his  eye,"  will  he  send  a  word  to  say 
whether  he  woke  up  in  Richmond? 

The  night  was  pleasantly  cool,  and  clouds  and  road  lighted 
up  by  a  full  moon.  Road  fair  but  sandy.  The  waggons  were 
plodding  on  in  continuous  line;  but  that  they  were  not  much 
hurried  or  disordered  is  evident  from  our  soon  overtaking  our 
old  friend  of  "Co.  H,  3d  Regt.,  Me."  The  road  was  about 
as  sparingly  sprinkled  with  stray  soldiers  as  it  was  the. other 
side  of  Fairfax,  and  in  all  we  probably  saw  five  hundred,  not 
more,  between  the  first  panic  in  the  road  and  Alexandria. 
Many  of  these  were  lying  in  groups,  asleep,  by  the  roadside. 
Frequently,  two  would  be  together  on  a  heavy  waggon-horse 
without  saddle;  several,  slightly  disabled,  had  climbed  into 
the  waggons.  Two  poor  fellows  I  noticed  together  on  a  tired 
horse,  looking  the  very  picture  of  exhaustion.  The  expression 
on  the  face  of  one  of  them  I  cannot  forget :  he  looked  sick,  and 
his  eyes  rolled  in  a  despairing  manner.  I  tried  to  cheer  him, 
saying  he  would  soon  be  in  Alexandria,  well  cared  for.     He 

could  only  answer  by  what  seemed  a  thankful  smile.     T 

and  I  tried  to  talk  to  as  many  different  soldiers  as  we  could 
reach,  and  to  learn  all  they  had  to  say.  Their  stories  of  the 
barbarities  of  the  rebels  to  the  wounded  were  too  many  and 
too  varied  to  leave  any  doubt  that  "No  quarter"  was  the 
watchword  of  at  least  a  portion  of  the  rebel  army.  I  might 
repeat  a  dozen  of  these  sad  incidents,  showing  how  disabled 
and  wounded  men  were  butchered ;  but  the  theme  is  sickening. 
For  the  sake  of  humanity,  of  common  decency,  let  us  hope 
that  this  barbarity  was  limited  and  local,  and  was  condemned 
by  the  commanders.  We  since  know  that  after  the  battle 
they  did  take  care  of  our  wounded  and  treat  them  well:  let 
all  justice  be  done. 


328  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Almost  every  man  we  talked  with  belonged  to  a  different 
regiment  from  the  last.     They  were  chiefly  from  Rhode  Island , 
Connecticut,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Wisconsin   (I  did  not  see  any 
soldiers  from  Maine),  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  New  York, 
or  Pennsylvania;  but  of  course  I  speak  only  of  our  part  of  the 
road.     Their  accounts   seemed   to   harmonise,   especially  in 
two  points :  namely,  that  our  men  held  their  ground  sturdily 
until  three  o'clock,  and  whenever  they  came  in  actual  contact 
with  the  rebels  they  drove  them  back;  and,  secondly,  that 
many  of  our  officers  were  grossly  inefficient,  and  some  evidently 
showed  the  white  feather.     Orders  seemed  to  be  scarce;  "the 
men  fought  on  their  own  hook."     Several,  however,  spoke  of 
the  gallant  young  Governor  Sprague,  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
said  he  behaved  heroically.     "  It  was  the  movement  of  a  Rhode 
Island  battery  from  the  range  of  shells  to  a  new  position,  yet 
in  perfect  order,  which  started  at  least  a  part  of  the  false  panic 
and  cry  of  '  Retreat. '     The  Fire  Zouaves  had  made  some  ter- 
rific charges ;  but  as  they  would  rush  headlong  on  one  masked 
battery,  and  capture  it,  they  were  decimated  by  another  bat- 
tery concealed  in  the  rear.     Late  in  the  day,  these  sturdy 
fellows  received  a  charge  of  the  famous  Black  Horse  Cavalry 
of  Virginia,  who  were  sent  reeling  back  with  half  their  saddles 
vacant .     The  greatest  mistake  on  our  side  was  want  of  cavalry ; 
the  next  was,  making  us  fight  on  empty  stomachs,  tired  out, 
and  without  any  water  to  taste,  except  mud-puddles.     As  it 
was,  the  rebels  were  beaten  and  were  falling  back,  when  that 
panic  was  started  at  the  last  moment."    Such,  almost  literally, 
were  the  words  of  these  men  from  different  parts  of  the  field, 
and  before  they  could  have  compared  notes  among  themselves. 
Toward  daybreak,  we  came  up  with  a  drove  of  forty  cattle, 
belonging  to  the  army,  which  had  been  driven  back  with  the 
returning  waggons  all  the  way ;  and  we  took  some  extra  exercise 
chasing  a  bullock  or  two,  straying  off  into  the  woods.     I 
think  we  saved  our  Uncle  Samuel  one  stout  animal,  and  fairly 
earned  a  beefsteak,  which  is  hereby  freely  waived  in  behalf 
of  Privates  A.  and  B.,  who  are  probably  as  hungry  as  we.     As 
day  dawned,  we  came  up  with  a  female  equestrian,  probably 
a  nurse,  who  walked  her  horse  leisurely  by  the  waggons.     Soon 


Bvill  Run  329 

we  observed  camps  near  the  road,  over  which  waved  the  Stars 
and  Stripes;  the  ramparts  of  Fort  Ellsworth  on  a  hill  com- 
manding the  road  into  Alexandria  were  occupied  by  men, 
busy  apparently  in  placing  their  guns  in  range;  and  at  the 
outer  picket  near  the  town,  another  platoon  from  the  garrison 
were  "arguing  the  point"  with  fugitive  soldiers  who  were 
asking  admittance.  Even  at  this  time  only  the  waggons  and 
the  disabled  men  seemed  to  be  allowed  to  pass:  able-bodied 
soldiers  were  very  properly  stopped  outside.  Our  pass  was 
promptly  honoured  as  usual.  At  the  first  chance  for  a  cwp 
of  coffee — a  decent  negro  family  in  a  barnish-lodking  house, 
where  cakes  were  spread  to  tempt  stray  pennies  from  soldier- 
boys  and  others — we  had  a  nice  hot  breakfast,  without  a 
single  allusion  to  the  event  of  the  day.  As  we  walked  down 
the  long,  dull  streets  of  Alexandria,  still  almost  vacant  and 
cheerless,  we  began  to  see  the  people,  male  and  female,  looking 
out  with  expressions,  as  I  imagined,  of  no  very  great  grief  at 
the  news  of  the  morning.  Probably  they  had  heard  the  worst 
story  of  the  loyal  side ;  and  not  a  few  appeared  to  be  actually 
rejoicing.  As  we  passed  a  group  of  four,  a  man,  of  some  posi- 
tion apparently,  was  saying:  "Has  the  world  ever  seen  a  worse 
whipping!"  Pleasant,  this!  Their  preferences,  at  least,  were 
not  very  doubtful.  Strangely  deluded  people !  how  long  can 
they  live  under  such  an  insane  rebellion  against  a  govern- 
ment whose  worst  fault  has  been  a  weak  leniency  and  for- 
bearance to  its  Southern  children  who  were  conspiring  against 
its  very  existence? 

We  stopped  at  that  now  famous  scene  of  their  folly  and 
crime,  the  Marshall  House,  now  in  full  occupation  by  our 
soldiery.  The  sentry  forbade  our  entrance  "before  nine." 
Rain  commenced  just  as  we  reached  the  seven-o'clock  (the 
first)  boat  for  Washington.  So  we  were  not  only  among  the 
last  from  the  regulated  panic,  but  were  with  the  first  soldiers 
who  reached  Washington  by  this  route.  (The  Arlington  and 
Long  Bridge  road  diverges  some  miles  from  Alexandria.  Of 
the  current  that  way — this  side  of  Fairfax — we  could  not 
testify;  but  this  is  the  nearest  way.) 

We  had  thus  walked  between  thirty-five  and  forty  miles 


330  George  Palmer  Putnam 

in  the  course  of  twenty-one  hours ;  and  Mr.  T seemed  to 

feel  so.  In  the  boat  I  conversed  with  a  New  York  gentleman 
and  his  wife  who  had  been  on  the  field  near  the  battle,  all  day. 
His  later  expectations  were  connected  with  an  involuntary 
trip  to  Richmond;  but  Madame  did  n't  feel  the  least  appre- 
hension. Is  female  courage  founded  most  on  calm  wisdom 
and  steady  nerve,  or  on  a  more  limited  appreciation  of  all  the 
points  of  "the  situation"?  Shall  we  say,  "Where  ignorance 
is  bliss,  't  is  folly  to  be  wise"? 

•Two  omnibuses  at  the  Washington  dock  were  quickly  filled 
with  fugitive  soldiers  from  the  boat,  some  of  them  slightly 
disabled.  On  the  top  of  one  of  them  we  rumbled  up  the 
avenue,  and  were  soon  enveloped  in  the  eager  circles  at  Willard's 
on  that  dismal  morning ;  for  a  steady  rain,  as  well  as  the  news, 
was  dampening  the  ardour  of  the  excited  people.  The  early 
stampeders  had  made  the  most  of  their  sudden  flight,  and 
exaggerating  tale-bearers  and  worse  rumour  mongers  had  done 
their  utmost.  Here  an  idea  that  had  more  than  once  been 
suggested  by  what  I  had  heard  and  seen  was  greatly  strength- 
ened: namely,  that  the  panic  had  been  deliberately  started, 
or  at  least  accelerated,  by  secessionists  on  the  ground,  among 
the  Washington  visitors.  This  may  be  wholly  absurd  and 
untrue ;  but  how  easily  such  a  thing  could  have  been  done ! 

My  loyal  Washington  friend's  suggestion  of  the  good  moral 
effect  which  our  7th  Regiment  would  produce  by  their  re- 
turn to  the  capital  while  people's  minds  were  thus  disturbed 
was  duly  noted.  As  the  cars  were  to  leave  at  two,  and  our 
flags  now  waved  over  both  wings  of  the  noble  Capitol,  I  had 
the  curiosity  to  "take  a  turn"  in  the  Senate,  where  gallant 
Andy  Johnson  had  promised  to  speak  on  the  bill  approving 
the  doings  of  the  President.  About  thirty  Senators  were 
present,  looking  as  calm  as  if  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  had 
been  the  last  on  the  continent.  The  scene  here  was  a  notable 
after-piece  to  the  drama  of  yesterday. 

Breckinridge  sat  at  his  desk,  reading  in  a  morning  paper 
the  news  of  our  disaster.  Could  one  mistake  which  was  he? 
or  misinterpret  his  expression  of  entire  satisfaction  with  what 
hie  is  reading?     Is  he  naturally  so  cool  and  so  dignified,  and 


Dull  Run  331 

self-complacent,  or  does  he  affect  a  calmness  and  assume  a 
virtue,  though  he  has  it  not?  Is  he  disloyal  or  really  patriotic 
under  difficulties? 

What,  of  all  things  on  this  day,  is  under  discussion?  The 
bill  forbidding  the  return  of  fugitive  slaves  by  our  troops  to 
disloyal  owners. 

"What!"  said  Senator  Wilson,  "shall  we  take  these  men 
who  have  been  used  to  dig  intrenchments  for  masked  batteries, 
behind  which  their  traitorous  masters  are  posted  to  murder 
our  true  loyal  defenders — shall  we  force  these  poor 
men  back  to  those  traitorous  masters  to  be  used  behind 
other  batteries  for  mowing  down  the  soldiers  of  the 
Union?" 

The  tone  of  the  question  was  slightly  warmed,  I  imagine,  by 
what  the  Senator  had  seen  at  Bull  Run.  Allusion  was  made 
to  the  "Senator  from  Kentucky,"  who  had  demanded 
the  yeas  and  nays,  and  a  small  shot  was  fired  toward 
him. 

"Mr.  President,"  said  the  ex-leader  and  candidate,  rising 
with  great  assumption  of  calm  dignity,  "the  Senator  from 
Massachusetts  will  of  course  do  his  duty  as  he  understands  it. 
I,  sir,  as  a  Senator  from  Kentucky,  shall  endeavour  to  do 
mine."  (Resumes  his  seat  and  the  newspaper,  which  he  turns 
over  somewhat  conspicuously  toward  "the  gentleman  on  the 
other  side  of  the  House.")  Pearce  speaks,  half-way,  for  Mary- 
land. Mr.  Clerk  Forney  presently  calls  the  vote,  Trumbull, 
Sumner,  Wilson,  and  others  responding  an  emphatic  "Ay"; 
and  the  chairman  remarks  that  "the  bill  is  passed" — six 
Senators  voting  "No." 

Mr.  Tennessee  Johnson  then  postponing  his  speech,  we 
looked  into  the  House,  found  the  seats  as  full  as  usual,  and 
business  proceeding;  and  so  we  adjourned  to  the  cars,  and 
soon  whirled  by  our  pickets,  and  passed  the  famous"  Junction," 
and  the  Relay  House,  and  Federal  Hill,  and  noted  Pratt 
Street;  had  a  glimpse  of  Fort  McHenry  (we  had  been  told 
that  the  retreat  would  make  a  rise  of  a  troublous  tide  in  this 
region,  but  didn't  see  it),  and  at  half-past  ten  were  fairly 
pressed  into  the  densest  of  excited  crowds  at  the  Philadelphia 


332  George  Palmer  Putnam 

"Continental."     "Is  it  true  that  we  have  twelve  thousand 
killed,  and  our  army  all  gone?"  etc. 


Next  morning  I  was  rather  hoarse — but  I  felt  the  pulse  of  a 
splendid  regiment  in  Chestnut  Street,  bound  for  the  cars  as 
early  as  five  a.m.,  and  found  that  they  were  n't  frightened,  but 
rather  the  reverse. 


Coolly  recalling  all  that  I  had  witnessed,  and  much  that  I 
learned  from  original  witnesses  on  the  spot,  just  from  the  field, 
I  think  we  may  safely  conclude  this  much,  namely : 

i.   That  we  had  been  beaten. 

2.  That  the  battle  should  not  have  been  fought  on  that 
day;  not  only  because  it  was  the  Sabbath,  but  because,  after 
a  day's  rest,  with  reconnoitring,  and  good  meals,  the  enemy 
might  have  been  scorched  out  of  his  den  of  batteries,  and  then 
whipped  easily. 

3.  That  our  men  showed  pluck  and  fortitude,  and  stood 
their  ground  at  great  disadvantage. 

4.  That  many  of  our  offices  were  only  so-so,  and  some  were 
among  the  missing. 

5.  That  the  rebel  force  on  the  field  was  much  the  larger, 
and  was  repeatedly  relieved  by  fresh  regiments  from  their 
reserves  (troops  from  the  Valley) . 

6.  That  in  the  open  field  they  were  invariably  driven  back ; 
their  concealed  batteries  and  their  cavalry  were  their  chief 
reliance,  and  chief  success. 

7.  That  their  troops,  at  least  a  portion  of  them,  butchered 
our  wounded  men,  and  gave  no  quarter;  but  that  after  the 
battle  our  wounded  were  well  treated. 

8.  That  the  panic  was  a  groundless  one,  caused  by  misap- 
prehension, or  possibly  by  design  of  traitors  among  the  specta- 
tors ;  that  it  was  soon  stopped ,  although  too  late  to  save  the  day ; 
that  our  main  army  remained  together,  and  in  comparatively 
good  order. 

9.  That  part  of  the  rebels  were  themselves  retreating,  at 


Dxill  Run 


333 


the  same  moment;  and  that  the   rest  did   not  leave   their 
intrenchments  toward  our  forces,  during  that  night. 

10.  That  panics  and  false  reports  are  "as  easy  as  lying." 
P.  S. — Several  incidents  in  this  simple  narrative  were  too 
trivial  to  be  worth  mention,  except  as  they  had  reference  to 
what  has  since  become  a  topic  of  considerable  public  discussion 
— namely,  the  nature,  extent,  and  duration  of  that  panic.  The 
circumstance  that  our  companions  on  the  track  actually  slept 
at  Centreville  until  twelve  p.m.  is  a  curious  confirmation  of  our 
theory,  that  deliberate  movements  that  night  were  proved 
by  the  sequel  to  be  quite  safe.  If  our  story  appears  like  a 
tedious  "much  ado  about  nothing,"  it  is  at  least  carefully 
pruned  of  all  exaggeration. 


CHAPTER  XV 
The  Early  "Years  of  tHe  'War.     The  Draft  Riots 

1HAVE  not  at  hand  the  data  from  which  to  construct  a 
record  of  the  work  and  special  interests  during  these 
war  years.  I  was  myself,  as  explained,  absent,  and 
the  events  of  each  day  were  so  absorbing  that  the  citi- 
zens of  the  time  did  not  have  their  minds  free  to  keep 
records  or  diaries.  But  if  my  father  could  not  keep 
a  record  for  himself,  he  thought  that  he  might  at  least 
undertake  one  of  the  war  history  of  the  nation.  In  1861, 
he  planned,  in  company  with  a  versatile,  active-minded, 
but  untrustworthy,  journalist  called  Frank  Moore,  the 
publication  of  a  series  entitled  The  Rebellion  Record.  It 
was,  as  stated,  the  general  expectation  of  the  time  that 
the  difficulties,  serious  as  they  might  be,  could  not  last 
long.  It  was  supposed,  not  unnaturally,  that  every 
detailed  document  connected  with  the  events  of  the  time 
would  be  of  interest  for  later  readers  and  for  later  writers. 
The  first  volume  of  The  Rebellion  Record  as  printed  was 
edited  on  a  scale  which,  if  carried  out  throughout  the 
entire  four  years  of  the  contest,  would  have  made  a  set 
of  fifty  octavo  volumes  or  more.  Every  order  from 
Washington,  every  document  or  correspondence  outside 
of  Washington,  every  report  from  the  front,  private  letters 
from  citizens  who  were  organising  war  in  the  rear,  letters 
from  the  officers  who  were  trying  to  discipline  the  troops 


The  Draft  Riots  335 

in  the  field,  gossip  that  had  leaked  across  the  line  from  the 
rebel  capital  or  headquarters,  gossip  from  Washington  as 
to  the  loyalty  or  disloyalty  of  the  noteworthy  people  who 
were  gathered  there,  all  were  gathered  together  by  Moore 
into  a  collection  which  has  still  to-day  a  certain  personal 
interest  as  a  great  scrap-basket  or  a  photographic  medley 
of  the  time. 

During  these  earlier  months  of  1861,  everything  was 
guesswork.  It  was  not  clear  whether  we  had  upon  us  a 
revolt  or  a  revolution.  The  position'  of  no  citizen  could 
be  considered  as  assured  until  he  had  made  utterance 
or  taken  action.  There  were  almost  as  many  schemes  for 
saving  the  Union  as  there  were  voters.  Thousands  of 
citizens  in  the  rear  thought  they  knew  just  what  our  army 
ought  to  do  and  wrote  letters  to  the  President  or  to  the 
public  press  in  order  to  emphasise  the  value  of  their  plans. 
Hundreds  of  soldiers  at  the  front  thought  they  knew  how 
affairs  of  state  ought  to  be  conducted,  and  wrote  letters 
to  the  papers  at  home  in  order  to  give  to  political  leaders 
the  value  of  their  counsel.  Everything  was  tentative 
and  experimental  and  nearly  everything  was  medley 
and  chaos. 

By  1862,  the  situation  had  somewhat  cleared.  It  was 
evident  that  we  had  a  war  on  our  hands,  and  the  nation 
was  gradually  bracing  itself  to  utilise  its  resources  as  effect- 
ively as  possible.  Incompetent  leaders  were  still  in  the 
field,  but  many  had  been  weeded  out  and  others  were  to 
go.  The  difference  between  things  important  and  things 
trivial  was  getting  to  be  understood.  The  second  volume 
of  The  Rebellion  Record  makes  a  clear  indication  of  this 
change  in  the  situation  of  this  education  in  public  opinion. 
From  this  volume  we  may  come  to  understand  how,  in 
the  words  of  the  Swiss  writer,  Gasparin,  "  Un  grand  peuple 
sc  live."  Even  in  the  second  volume,  however,  space  was 
given  to  detailed  reports  of  not  a  few  skirmishes  which  had 


336  George  Palmer  Putnam 

but  little  influence  on  the  results  of  campaigns.  On  the 
scale  of  this  second  volume,  The  Rebellion  Record  could 
have  been  completed  possibly  in  twenty-five  octavo  vol- 
umes. By  the  time  the  third  volume  was  put  into  shape, 
a  more  exacting  editorial  policy  had  been  arrived  at.  The 
detailed  narratives  of  petty  skirmishes  were  eliminated 
or  condensed.  The  gossip  from  ' '  intelligent  contrabands 
as  to  what  was  going  on  behind  the  Confederate  lines  was 
left  to  be  sifted  by  later  events.  The  volume  presents, 
with  the  more  important  political  documents,  a  fairly 
complete  narrative  of  the  campaigns,  based,  of  course, 
almost  exclusively  upon  the  reports  of  the  Northern 
commanders.  In  the  succeeding  volumes,  a  still  sharper 
condensation  was  applied,  and  it  was  only  with  such  con- 
densation that  it  became  practicable  to  condense  into 
twelve  octavo  volumes  the  record  of  the  four  years.  The 
Rebellion  Record  does  not  present  history ;  but  its  contents 
can  be  neglected  by  no  future  historian.  Such  a  series  of 
volumes,  covering  the  period  of  the  American  Revolution 
or  of  the  War  of  1812,  would  have  been  of  inestimable  value 
for  the  future  Bancroft  or  McMaster.  The  work  consti- 
tuted, therefore,  a  service  to  the  community  and  was  so 
recognised  by  the  Government.  It  did  not  bring  any 
adequate  compensation  to  the  publisher.  The  cost  of  its 
production  was  very  much  greater  than  had  been  anti- 
cipated and  was  unduly  added  to  by  large  bills  put  in  by 
Moore  for  travelling  expenses  and  "contingencies."  As 
the  work  increased  in  compass  and  costliness,  subscribers 
dropped  off.  People  who  would  have  been  ready  to 
preserve  a  record  of  the  events  of  these  stirring  times  in 
four  or  five  volumes  were  unwilling,  as  some  of  them 
expressed  it,  to  make  room  in  their  libraries  for  such  an 
"elephant"  as  a  set  of  twelve.  At  the  close  of  the  war, 
my  father  thought  himself  fortunate  to  dispose  of  the  set, 
at  a  substantial  reduction  in  its  appraised  value,  to  his 


THe  Rebellion  Record  337 

neighbour,  Mr.  Van  Nostrand,  a  publisher  who  had  made 
a  good  deal  of  money  out  of  the  publication  of  war  books 
and  particularly  of  Casey's  Tactics,  and  who  felt  that  he 
was  willing  to  risk  some  further  investment  in  literature 
connected  with  the  war. 

Excepting  for  The  Rebellion  Record,  the  publishing  un- 
dertakings during  these  four  years  were  naturally  but  in- 
considerable. My  father  had,  in  fact,  for  the  time  being, 
given  up  publishing  activities  and  was  devoting  himself 
to  the  complicated  and  exacting  duties  of  his  Collector's 
office,  and  to  citizen's  work  outside  of  the  office. 

The  following  letter  is  from  the  Philadelphia  publisher 
who  later,  through  his  successful  management  of  the 
Ledger,  became  a  millionaire,  and  used  his  millions  well, 
if,  perhaps,  somewhat  "bumptiously." 


Philadelphia,  Sept.  21st,  1861. 
My  dear  Mr.  Putnam: 

I  was  glad  to  receive  your  genial  letter.  You  are  the  great- 
est philosopher  I  know,  and  your  contentment  and  hopefulness 
are  greatly  to  be  admired.  But  it  is  all  explained  when  we 
know  that  you  are  a  consistent  Christian.  I  am  sorry  you 
told  me  about  the  "thirty  years'  notes"  as  I  shall  never  be 
easy  until  I  lay  my  eyes  upon  it.  I  know  I  shall  devour  it. 
Henry  Carey  can  give  you  some  points,  so  can  John  Grigg. 
Do  it  well  and  it  will  be  the  booksellers'  Bible.  It  will  be  a 
great  work.  We  are  to  have  a  trade-sale  here,  but  I  am  in- 
clined to  doubt  its  success.  The  New  York  sale  may  do.  We 
are  selling  nothing  but  military  and  school-books  and  station- 
ery. The  Southern  debts  may  be  considered  wiped  out.  The 
West  and  North-west  are  not  doing  as  well  as  they  might,  but 
they  must  come  up.  There  will  be  but  little  general  trade  this 
fall. 

That  Rebellion  Record  is  a  good  conception  and  is  well  car- 
ried out.  It  will  be  an  indispensable  treasure  to  the  future 
historian. 


338  George  Palmer  Putnam 

I  am  glad  to  hear  such  good  accounts  of  Minnie  and  Haven. 
They  are  my  pets. 

Ever  your  friend, 

George  W.  Childs. 

Send  as  soon  as  you  can  1000  Impressions  of  the  Portrait 
of  McClellan. 

The  ownership  of  The  Rebellion  Record,  at  least  during 
the  first  two  years  of  its  publication,  was  kept  distinct 
from  the  property  in  the  general  business.  The  editor, 
Frank  Moore,  held  certain  shares,  possibly  one  third;  a 
second  portion  was  retained  by  the  publisher;  the  third 
division  was  taken  over  by  a  young  man  who  was  then 
making  his  first  business  venture,  and  who  has  since 
become  known  as  one  of  the  leading  publishers  and  active- 
minded  citizens  of  the  country,  Henry  Holt. 

In  the  summer  of  1863,  occurred  what  are  known  as  the 
Draft  Riots.  It  had  been  found  advisable  to  put  into 
force  a  conscription  system.  The  States  had  not  con- 
tributed in  equal  measure  the  volunteer  troops  which  were 
expected  from  them  according  to  their  population.  It 
was  also  the  case  that  certain  citizens  who  were  not  them- 
selves able  to  go  to  the  front  were  prepared  to  pay  other 
men  to  act  as  their  representatives,  or,  in  the  language  of 
the  act,  "substitutes."  The  Southern  States  had,  from 
an  early  period  of  the  war,  found  it  advisable  to  employ 
conscription  and  had  been  able  to  keep  their  depleted 
regiments  full  in  this  way.  Through  the  greater  part  of 
the  country  the  draft  was  accepted  without  question. 
In  two  or  three  of  the  larger  cities  only  did  the  draft 
measures  produce  protest  or  discontent,  a  discontent 
which,  in  New  York,  took  the  shape  of  riot.  The  riotous 
proceedings  were  carried  on  in  New  York  almost  exclu- 
sively by  the  Irish  and  were  fostered  by  certain  Demo- 
cratic politicians  who  thought  that  they  could  in  this  way 


The  Draft  Riots  339 

add  to  their  own  political  influence.  The  Governor  of 
the  State,  Horatio  Seymour,  belonged  to  the  group  of  Anti- 
War  Democrats,  and  his  election  had  been  considered  as 
an  indication  that  the  great  State  of  New  York  was  weak- 
ening in  its  support  of  the  Government.  His  half-hearted 
measures  for  the  management  of  the  war  resources  of  the 
Empire  State,  and  his  mild,  not  to  say  cowardly,  treat- 
ment of  the  rioters  of  New  York  City,  certainly  gave 
grounds  for  the  belief  that  he  was  not  the  proper  man  to 
represent  the  loyalty  of  New  York  at  a  time  when  the 
existence  of  the  nation  was  at  stake. 

In  July  of  1863,  New  York  City  was  practically  denuded 
of  troops.  There  were  one  or  two  companies  on  Gov- 
ernor's Island  and  Riker's  Island,  which  had  charge  of  the 
work  of  sending  the  conscripts  to  the  front,  and  a  few 
companies  of  invalided  soldiers  were  guarding  the  prison 
camps  at  Elmira  and  on  the  Lakes.  The  militia  regi- 
ments, while  not  at  the  front  as  organisations,  had  been 
depleted  by  the  very  considerable  volunteering  from  their 
ranks.  It  is  stated,  for  instance,  that  of  the  7th  New 
York,  no  less  than  six  hundred  members  held  commissions, 
during  the  war  in  volunteer  regiments.  The  trained  men 
from  the  crack  militia  regiments  were,  in  fact,  the  very 
best  material  with  which  to  officer  the  newly  organised 
volunteer  regiments. 

Certain  Irishmen  in  New  York  set  up  the  cry  that  the 
war  was  being  fought  for  the  advantage  of  the  negro ;  or, 
as  they  put  it,  "  for  the  sake  of  the  damned  nigger. ' '  They 
did  not  see  why  good  Irishmen  should  waste  their  lives 
for  any  such  reason.  With  a  very  Irish  lack  of  logic,  they 
carried  their  objections  to  the  freeing  of  negroes  from  the 
South  to  the  point  of  getting  up  a  little  persecution  of  their 
own  against  negroes  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Coloured 
men,  women,  and  children  were  chased  through  the  streets, 
harried  in  various  ways,  and  in  quite  a  number  of  instances 


340  George  Palmer  Putnam 

hanged,  shot,  or  stoned.  With  an  absolutely  Irish 
extreme  of  absurdity,  indignation  against  the  negro  cul- 
minated in  an  attack  on  the  Coloured  Orphan  Asylum, 
which  occupied,  at  that  time,  the  ground  in  Fifth  Avenue 
on  which  the  Vanderbilt  houses  have  since  been  built. 
The  building  was  set  on  fire,  and  though  the  frightened 
teachers  did  the  best  that  they  could  to  secure  the  safety 
of  their  charges,  some  of  the  children  were  killed.  Several 
of  the  teachers  were  also  badly  burned.  The  houses  of 
citizens  known  as  anti-slavery  leaders  or  as  sympathisers 
with  the  negroes  were  picked  out,  and  in  a  number  of 
cases,  ransacked.  One  house  that  was  in  this  manner 
pillaged  was  that  of  James  S.  Gibbons.  Mr.  Gibbons  had 
been  an  active  anti-slavery  worker  and  his  wife  had  for 
some  time  been  serving  at  the  front  as  a  nurse.  The 
family  escaped  through  the  skylight  on  the  roof,  while  the 
house  was  ransacked  and  burned  out.  Mr.  Gibbons 
afterwards  recovered  damages  from  the  city  for  the  money 
value  of  the  property.  The  lost  papers  and  family  heir- 
looms could,  of  course,  never  be  made  good.  The  Tribune 
office  was  surrounded  by  an  excited  crowd  which  threat- 
ened to  burn  the  building  and  to  lynch  the  editor,  Horace 
Greeley.  It  was  barricaded  and  the  employers  succeeded, 
with  the  aid  of  volunteers  from  without  and  with  a  good 
show  of  weapons  within,  in  keeping  the  crowd  at  a  dis- 
tance. The  greater  part  of  the  offices  that  had  been  opened 
for  the  work  of  the  conscription  officials  were  destroyed  or 
sacked.  Other  Government  offices,  where  it  was  supposed 
that  funds  might  be  within  reach,  were  also  threatened. 
As  is,  of  course,  always  the  case  in  such  a  movement,  the 
groups  of  indignant  Irishmen,  who  were  influenced  by  a 
more  or  less  inconsistent  but  concentrated  rage  against 
the  Government  and  the  negroes,  were  added  to  by  num- 
bers of  the  lower  classes  who  cared  little  for  the  war  and 
less  for  the  negro  but  who  welcomed  the  opportunity  for 


THe  Draft  Riots  341 

pillage.  For  three  days  the  city  was  practically  at  the 
mercy  of  its  mobs.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  numbers 
have  ever  been  ascertained  of  the  lives  lost  under  the 
attacks  of  the  mobs,  lives  chiefly  of  the  coloured  folks,  but 
including  also  those  of  a  number  of  the  people  who 
attempted  to  defend  them. 

I  believe  it  was  on  the  third  day  that  Governor  Seymour 
made  his  famous  speech  to  some  division  of  the  mob,  in 
which  they  were  addressed  as  " My  friends,"  and  in  which 
he  promised  them  he  would  use  his  influence  in  Washing- 
ton to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  orders  for  the  conscription. 
On  the  third  or  fourth  day,  troops  were  gathered  together 
from  different  points,  troops  which  included  such  members 
of  the  7th  Regiment  as  were  still  within  reach.  I  do 
not  at  this  time  of  writing  recall  the  name  of  the  officer  who 
had  charge  of  these  hastily  gathered  levies.  Whoever  he 
was,  he  acted  with  energy  and  decision.  Very  little  time 
was  wasted  in  cautions  or  pronunciamentos.  The  troops, 
harassed  with  brickbats  and  sometimes  with  pistol-shots, 
when  told  to  shoot,  fired  low  and  with  full  purpose.  Hun- 
dreds of  the  mob  were  killed  and  wounded.  While  they 
were  being  dispersed,  fires  broke  out  in  different  parts  of 
the  city,  and  in  the  demoralisation  of  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment (itself,  at  that  time,  largely  manned  by  Irishmen), 
brought  about  no  little  destruction.  Finally,  peace  was 
restored  and  the  city  resumed  control  of  its  streets  and  of 
its  affairs.  The  direct  loss  to  life  and  property  had  been 
serious  enough.  The  indirect  loss,  caused  through  inter- 
ference to  business,  was,  of  course,  very  much  greater. 
The  impression  given  to  Europe,  that  the  Government 
was  not  strong  enough  to  protect  its  great  city,  and  that 
in  the  absence  of  the  soldiers  at  the  front  there  was  no 
safety  for  the  citizens  at  home,  had,  naturally,  for  a  time, 
a  bad  effect  on  American  credit.  In  the  end,  however, 
the  determination  shown  by  the  Government  in  enforcing 


342  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  conscription  made  it  clear  to  Europe  and  to  the  South 
that  the  war  was  to  be  prosecuted  with  full  vigour,  and 
that  the  country  would  support  the  Administration  with 
its  full  resources.  This  made  the  final  success  only  a  ques- 
tion of  time.  The  conscription  laws  were  put  into  force  in 
New  York,  and  throughout  the  land,  on  the  original  plan ; 
thousands  of  drafted  men  went  to  the  front  and  did  good 
service. 

A  number  of  the  New  York  rioters  who  had  been  cap- 
tured were  dealt  w,th  according  to  the  law.  It  became 
evident  from  the  action  of  the  militia  that  the  regiments 
containing  Irishmen  were  as  ready  to  fight  for  law  and 
order  against  Irish  mobs  as  were  the  others.  I  remember 
that  there  was  among  the  Irishmen  of  my  regiment,  at 
that  time  stationed  in  Louisiana,  greater  indignation  at 
the  disgrace  that  had  been  brought  to  the  city  of  New  York 
than  was  expressed  by  the  men  from  the  upper  part  of  the 
State.  It  is  probable  that  a  riot  in  New  York  to-day 
would  be  still  more  severely  dealt  with.  We  have  now, 
in  addition  to  the  history  of  1863,  the  precedents  of 
Pittsburg,  Chicago,  and  Milwaukee. 

My  father  had  volunteered  for  service,  some  time  before 
the  riot,  in  what  was  known  as  the  "Home  Guard,"  an 
organisation  which  had  been  instituted  for  the  purpose 
of  preserving  order  in  the  city  at  a  time  when  so  many 
able-bodied  men  were  at  the  front.  He  did  not  get  a 
chance,  during  these  days,  of  reporting  for  duty  to  his 
company,  because  he  was  busy  protecting  his  Collector's 
office.  He  had  not  been  able  to  get  out  of  his  hands  all 
the  moneys  belonging  to  the  Government,  and  his  office 
was  one  of  many  threatened  by  the  mob.  With  four  or 
five  of  the  more  public-spirited  of  his  clerks,  he  remained 
on  guard  in  his  office  for  three  days  and  two  nights,  getting 
in  food  by  pickets  as  best  he  could.  Pistols  had  been  pro- 
vided and  some  at  least  of  his  associates  knew  how  to  shoot 


The  Draft  Riots  343 

them.  It  is  my  impression  that  my  father  himself  could 
not  have  hit  a  barn  door  at  a  greater  distance  than  six  feet, 
but  his  lack  of  experience  in  shooting  did  not  interfere  with 
either  his  pluck  or  his  sense  of  duty.  The  office  at  that 
time  was  at  the  corner  of  226.  Street  and  Broadway.  The 
rioting  had  massed  itself  in  part  up  and  down  23d  Street 
.and  the  severest  action  of  the  three  days'  campaign  took 
place  at  23d  Street  near  Second  Avenue.  It  was  not  until 
this  fight  had  cleared  the  quarter  that  the  siege  of  the 
Collector's  office  was  raised.  My  father  was  able  to  get 
his  money  into  the  vaults  of  the  Second  National  Bank 
(the  banks  had  themselves,  for  the  greater  part,  been 
■closed  during  these  three  days)  and  to  find  storage  also 
for  the  more  valuable  of  the  office  records,  such  as  the 
assessment  lists. 

In  1864,  my  father,  in  common  with  the  loyal  anti- 
slavery  group  of  citizens  generally,  interested  himself 
-actively  in  the  re-election  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  The 
failure  to  continue  Lincoln  as  President  of  the  country 
would  probably  have  meant  the  failure  of  the  struggle  for 
national  existence.  The  citizens  who  had  from  the  begin- 
ning opposed  any  action  in  regard  to  what  they  called 
"coercing  the  South,"  and  others  who,  while  at  first  dis- 
posed to  favour  such  action,  had  lost  heart  in  connection 
with  the  long  duration  of  the  contest,  and  had  come  to 
believe  that  it  was  not  going  to  be  practicable  to  restore 
the  authority  of  the  United  States  throughout  the  territory 
of  the  South,  had  united  in  nominating  for  the  presidency, 
in  opposition  to  the  nationalists,  General  George  B. 
McClellan. 

The  fact  that  McClellan's  character  and  course  of 
action,  since  he  had  come  before  the  public,  were  such  as 
to  commend  him  to  those  who  were  ready  to  purchase 
peace  at  any  price,  was  in  itself  a  severe  criticism  upon  the 
conscientiousness,  the  energy,  and  the  patriotism  of  his 


344  George  Palmer  Putnam 

acts  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies.  My  father 
was  with  those  who  believed,  not  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
been  hasty  in  removing  McClellan  from  the  command  of 
the  armies  after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  but  that  this 
removal  ought  to  have  taken  place  many  months  before, 
when  the  General  had,  by  his  absurd  egotism  and  arrogant 
insubordination,  and  by  criticisms  on  the  Administration 
which  almost  amounted  to  treasonable  utterances,  mani- 
fested his  entire  incompetence  for  the  trusts  that  had  been 
confided  to  him. 

An  attack  upon  the  Government  from  another  quarter 
was  made  on  the  part  of  an  extreme  anti-slavery  group  that 
had  gathered  unto  itself,  as  into  a  cave  of  Adullam,  the 
discontented  of  all  groups.  Those  who  thought  that 
Lincoln  had  shown  weakness  in  dealing  with  the  anti- 
slavery  question  were  the  leaders  in  the  party,  but  many 
were  associated  with  these  who  were  unhappy  either  for 
themselves  or  for  their  friends  because  they  had  failed  to 
secure  offices,  commissions,  or  contracts. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated  by  the  regular  Republican 
Convention,  at  Chicago.  The  friends  of  General  McClel- 
lan also  used  Chicago  as  the  place  for  his  nomination,  while 
the  Adullamites  put  into  nomination,  at  Cleveland,  Gen- 
eral Fremont  and  John  C.  Cochrane.  The  result  of  the 
elections  was,  fortunately,  a  decided  expression  of  approval 
on  the  part  of  the  country  for  the  work  done  by  the  Admin- 
istration. The  great  majority  of  the  electoral  votes  given 
to  Lincoln  constituted  an  announcement  to  the  Confed- 
eracy on  the  one  hand,  and  to  Europe  on  the  other,  that 
the  war  would  be  prosecuted  to  its  close  with  the  full 
resources  of  the  Northern  States.  The  anti-slavery  policy 
announced  by  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation,  issued 
by  Lincoln  in  January,  1863,  had  been  confirmed  by  sub- 
sequent acts  throughout  the  following  year  and  was  re- 
emphasised  in  the  inaugural  message  of  March  4,  1865. 


Lincoln   Reelected  345 

There  could  now  be  no  further  question  that  the  nation, 
as  reconstituted,  was  to  be  a  free  state. 

The  effective  utilisation  through  the  customs  and  taxes 
of  the  resources  of  the  country  was,  of  course,  in  its  way, 
as  important  a  factor  in  the  support  of  the  Government  as 
the  victories  of  the  troops  at  the  front.  In  spite  of  the  ser- 
ious interference  with  business  caused  by  the  unexpected 
continuance  of  the  contest,  the  Northern  communities 
continued  to  be  sufficiently  prosperous  to  bear  the  enor- 
mous burdens  of  the  war  and  to  pay,  without  grumbling, 
the  taxes  that  the  war  made  necessary,  taxes  which  were, 
it  may  be  said,  the  highest  that  had  ever  before  been 
imposed  upon  a  civilised  community  by  its  own  friendly 
government. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
Collector  of  Internal  Revenue 

THE  taxing  district  (the  Eighth  of  New  York)  the 
charge  of  which  had  been  confided  to  my  father, 
included  within  its  limits  some  of  the  largest  tax- 
payers in  the  country,  and  during  the  four  years  of  his 
responsibility,  he  handled  a  great  many  millions  of  Gov- 
ernment funds.  While  the  larger  portion  of  the  revenue 
in  the  Eighth  District  came  from  incomes,  there  were  also 
important  receipts  from  brewers  and  distillers,  the  taxes 
upon  whose  products  had  been  made  very  heavy.  On 
whiskey,  the  war  tax  had  been  fixed  at  two  dollars  a  gal- 
lon. The  actual  cost  of  producing  the  whiskey  amounted 
to  something  less  than  forty  cents.  David  A.  Wells,  who 
was  at  that  time,  as  before  mentioned,  special  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Treasury,  had  taken  strong  ground  against 
the  imposition  of  a  tax  on  whiskey  higher  than  fifty  cents, 
or,  at  the  most,  ninety  cents.  It  was  his  belief  that 
such  a  tax  as  two  dollars  would  constitute  too  strong  a 
premium  on  fraudulent  manufacture  and  would  so  far 
hamper  the  operations  of  the  honest  manufacturers  that 
the  net  returns  to  the  Government  would  be  smaller  than 
under  a  lower  tax.  After  various  years  of  experimenting, 
the  calculations  of  Mr.  Wells  proved  to  be  correct.  The 
largest  returns  from  the  whiskey  tax  for  a  normal  year's 

346 


Collector  of  Revenue  347 

production  were  second  with  a  tax  rate  of  fifty  cents  a 
gallon. 

Under  the  system  then  in  effect  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
the  Government  kept  on  duty,  at  all  the  larger  distilleries, 
United  States  inspectors  whose  business  it  was  to  watch 
the  output,  inspect  the  accounts,  and  verify  the  fact  that 
the  tax  as  paid  to  the  Collector  corresponded  with  the 
amount  of  the  actual  output  as  well  as  with  that  of  the 
output  as  sworn  to  by  the  distiller.  I  remember  later, 
when,  after  returning  from  the  army,  I  was  for  some 
months  giving  help  to  my  father  as  a  deputy  in  the 
Collector's  office,  hearing  one  of  the  larger  distillers  say 
with  almost  unnecessary  frankness:  "Mr.  Collector,  your 
authorities  pay  those  inspectors  in  my  place  twelve 
hundred  a  year,  do  they  not  ?  "  "Yes,"  said  my  father. 
"Well,"  said  the  distiller,  "if  I  wanted  to  send  out  a  few 
thousand  gallons  of  whiskey  without  paying  the  tax,  I 
could  certainly  afford  to  give  those  inspectors  a  much 
larger  salary  for  omitting  to  make  record  of  that  portion 
of  my  product."  It  was  unquestionably  the  case  that 
these  twelve-hundred-dollar  inspectors  were  occasionally 
bought  up  by  the  wealthy  speculative  distillers,  who  could 
make  a  clear  profit  over  their  honest  rivals  of  a  dollar  and 
sixty  cents  on  every  gallon  they  could  get  out  of  their 
distilleries  free  of  the  charge  for  tax.  I  will  give  one 
instance  as  an  example.  A  distillery  in  West  36th  Street 
appeared  to  be  doing  a  larger  business  than  was  recorded 
on  the  books,  or  than  took  shape  in  the  weekly  ship- 
ments of  barrels  certified  to  by  the  distiller  himself  and 
by  the  United  States  inspectors.  Special  inspectors  (the 
distillers  would  probably  have  called  them  spies)  were 
employed,  and  after  some  weeks  of  careful  labour  it  was 
discovered  that  one  or  more  big  siphons  had  been 
built,  running  back  from  the  buildings  in  36th  Street, 
with  outlets  in  a  stable  in  35th  Street.     A  large  propor- 


348  George  Palmer  Putnam 

tion  of  the  product  of  the  distillery  was  being  pumped 
out  from  night  to  night  through  these  siphons  into  re- 
ceivers in  the  stables,  and  was  carried  away  in  the  night 
hours  to  be  sold  in  the  market  free  of  tax.  The  dis- 
covery of  the  fraud  ruined  the  distiller,  as  it  involved  not 
only  making  good  the  taxes  that  had  not  been  paid,  but 
the  payment  of  a  penalty  of  double  the  amount  of  these 
taxes.  There  were  probably,  however,  not  a  few  distillers 
throughout  the  country  where  supervision  was  not  quite 
so  practicable  as  in  New  York,  whose  tax-avoiding  siphons 
were  never  discovered,  as  it  was  in  evidence  that  whiskey 
was  being  sold  in  the  open  market  at  a  dollar  and  a  half 
a  gallon,  that  is  to  say,  at  fifty  cents  less  than  the  amount 
of  the  tax. 

I  recall  one  other  instance  in  which  special  action  on  the 
part  of  the  Collector  was  required  in  order  to  check  off  a 
suspected  taxpayer.  Among  the  war  taxes  was  one  of  a 
dollar  or  more  per  head  on  all  cattle  killed.  It  became 
evident  from  the  market  reports  that  very  many  more 
cattle  were  being  killed  within  the  city  than  were  reported 
for  taxes.  My  father  found  reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy 
of  the  reports  of  certain  of  the  big  cattle-yards  on  the  river 
side  of  his  own  district.  He  took  counsel  with  his  fellow- 
Collectors  in  the  neighbouring  districts  and  found  that  they 
had  similar  grounds  for  suspicion.  He  sent  me  (this  was 
in  1865,  when  I  was  acting  as  deputy)  to  the  office  of  his 
old-time  friend,  Peter  Cooper,  with  a  note  asking  whether 
Mr.  Cooper  would  permit  his  book-keeper  to  make  up  for 
the  use  of  the  Collectors  a  record  of  the  number  of  sets  of 
hoofs  purchased  by  the  Cooper  concern  from  New  York 
cattlemen  during  the  preceding  calendar  month.  Mr. 
Cooper  was  a  public-spirited  citizen,  and  was  very  ready 
to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  Government  in  this  special 
requirement.  In  connection  with  his  glue  manufacturing 
operations,    his  firm  purchased  a  very  large  proportion- 


Collector  of  Revenue  349 

probably  the  largest  proportion — of  the  hoofs  of  all  the 
cattle  slaughtered  on  the  island.  The  figures  pre- 
sented from  Mr.  Cooper's  books  gave  evidence,  as  my 
father  had  supposed  would  be  the  case,  that  nearly 
twice  as  many  cattle  were  being  killed  as  had  been  re- 
ported for  taxation.  These  figures  also  gave  the  names 
of  the  parties  from  whom  Cooper,  Hewitt  &  Co.  had 
purchased  the  hoofs,  furnishing,  therefore,  direct  evidence 
not  only  of  the  delinquencies,  but  of  the  names  of  the 
delinquents.  In  this  case,  also,  the  penalty  included  the 
doubling  of  the  tax,  and  was  sufficient  to  drive  out  of 
the  business  altogether  some  of  the  most  important  of  the 
offenders. 

In  the  autumn  of  1864,  my  father  was  called  to  Wash- 
ington in  connection  with  an  anxiety  about  myself.  In 
the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  which  was  fought  on  October 
19,  1864, 1  was  reported  "missing,"  and  it  was  some  weeks 
before  he  was  able  to  secure  any  trustworthy  information 
as  to  my  whereabouts.  I  had,  in  fact,  been  cut  off  and  cap- 
tured in  the  early  part  of  the  battle,  and  I  passed  the  winter 
as  a  prisoner,  first  in  Richmond,  in  the  well-known  Libby 
Prison,  and  later  in  Danville.  When  my  name  finally 
appeared  in  the  list  of  prisoners,  my  father  naturally  was 
interested  in  the  question  of  effecting  an  exchange.  The 
condition  of  those  confined  in  the  Confederate  prisons  had 
at  any  time  during  the  war  been  unsatisfactory  enough. 
In  the  winter  of  1864-65,  the  Northern  soldiers  and  officers 
who  were  unfortunate  enough  to  be  confined  in  the  prisons 
of  Virginia  were  under  special  disadvantages.  The  in- 
creased range  of  operations  of  the  Federal  armies  and 
the  greater  activity  of  the  cavalry  had,  by  the  autumn  of 
1864,  interfered  very  materially  with  the  communications 
of  the  Confederate  forces  in  Virginia,  and  had  added  not 
a  little  to  the  difficulty  of  securing  supplies.  When  there 
was  not  food  enough  to  meet  the  daily  requirements  of 


350  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  army  that  was  defending  Richmond  and  of  the  citizens 
who  were  still  left  within  the  city  itself,  it  was  not  un- 
natural that  the  allowance  for  the  prisoners  should  have 
been  cut  down  below  the  point  of  safety.  As  a  result,  the 
mortality  during  this  particular  winter  among  the  prisoners 
in  Virginia  was  exceedingly  heavy.  The  prisoners  farther 
south,  as  at  Andersonville  and  Macon  in  Georgia,  were 
also  serious  sufferers,  and  in  their  case  there  was  not  the 
excuse,  that  did  exist  in  Virginia,  of  any  difficulty  in 
securing  food.  The  parents  and  others  in  the  North  who 
were  interested  in  the  safety  of  Northern  prisoners  were, 
during  the  winter  of  1864-65,  bringing  to  bear  upon  the 
Administration  in  Washington  all  the  influence  in  their 
power  to  have  measures  taken  to  effect  a  general  exchange 
of  prisoners.  This  exchange  had  for  twelve  months  or 
more  been  blocked,  owing  to  the  ground  taken  by  the  Con- 
federate authorities.  They  had  for  some  time  refused  to 
exchange  negro  soldiers  who  had  been  slaves  or  the  white 
officers  of  negro  regiments.  Mr.  Lincoln  very  properly 
took  the  stand  that  the  soldiers  of  the  country,  whether 
white  or  black,  must  receive  an  equal  measure  of  protec- 
tion. Until  the  prisoners  from  the  black  regiments  could 
be  exchanged  there  should  be  no  exchange  whatever. 

The  Southern  Government  was,  for  a  time,  not  opposed 
to  the  blocking  of  the  exchange  as  a  matter  of  military 
policy.  Towards  the  end  of  the  war,  however,  as  the 
ranks  of  the  Southern  army  became  depleted  so  that  the 
presence  of  every  man  capable  of  bearing  a  musket,  and 
particularly  of  one  with  the  experience  of  a  veteran, 
became  important,  it  was  decided  that  there  would  be  a 
material  advantage  to  the  South  in  securing  the  return  of 
the  thousands  of  the  Confederate  soldiers  who  were  at 
that  time  held  in  the  Northern  prisons.  These  men  were, 
for  the  most  part,  fit  for  service.  They  also  had,  of 
course,  suffered  in  prison,  particularly  from  cold.     They 


.A  Prison  Experience  351 

had,  however,  never  been  without  a  sufficiency  of  food  and 
had  never  been  permitted  to  remain  without  adequate 
clothing  or  covering.  Of  the  prisoners  who,  in  the  spring 
of  1865,  remained  in  Southern  jails,  not  one  man  in  twenty 
was  fit  for  service.  In  a  letter,  written  in  February,  '65, 
by  the  Confederate  Commissioner  of  Prisoners  to  Jefferson 
Davis,  the  Commissioner  urged  that  no  time  should  be 
lost  in  getting  back  into  the  Confederate  ranks  these  able- 
bodied  men  from  the  Northern  prisons,  "for  whom  the 
Confederates  would  give  in  exchange  broken-down  inval- 
ids who  were  not  fit  for  service."  These  reasons  proved 
more  powerful  than  the  arguments  of  troubled  parents  in 
bringing  about  the  desired  exchange;  and  after  various 
anxious  visits  to  Washington,  my  father  learned,  on  the 
first  of  March,  that  the  exchange  had  been  effected  and 
that  the  representative  of  his  own  home  circle  was  on  the 
wTay  back  to  New  York  from  Danville  by  way  of  Richmond 
and  Annapolis.  In  my  own  case  I  was  fortunately  able  to 
set  at  naught  the  calculation  of  the  Commissioner.  While 
not  very  stalwart,  I  was  fit  for  service,  and  after  a  fort- 
night at  home,  I  reported  to  my  regiment,  which  was  at 
that  time  in  North  Carolina. 

My  father  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  the  Union 
League  Club  which  was  appointed  to  take  action  on  the 
sad  day  of  April,  1865,  in  regard  to  the  assassination  of 
President  Lincoln.  He  had  some  measure  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  wording  of  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the 
club,  and  also  for  the  organisation  of  the  memorial  cere- 
monies carried  out  in  New  York  on  the  day  of  the  funeral. 
In  July  of  1865,  I  succeeded  in  securing  the  acceptance  of 
my  resignation  of  my  commission  (I  was  at  that  time 
Adjutant  of  my  regiment,  and  Brevet  Major), and  returned 
to  New  York  from  Savannah.  The  regiment  was  at  that 
time  acting  in  company  with  a  few  other  detained  bat- 
talions in  maintaining  government  in  the  State  of  Georgia 


352  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

until  the  Confederates  should  be  prepared  to  institute  a 
civil  government  of  their  own.  My  father  had  me  appoin- 
ted as  a  deputy  collector,  and  I  served  in  the  office  with 
him  until  the  spring  of  1 866.  The  business  of  the  office 
had  increased  very  largely,  and  in  spite  of  my  own  entire 
lack  of  business  experience  I  was  able  to  be  of  service, 
particularly  in  connection  with  certain  special  work  which 
my  father  was  unwilling  to  intrust  to  outsiders.  It  was 
my  fortune,  during  that  winter,  in  giving  under  the  Col- 
lector's authority  my  individual  receipt  for  taxes,  to  use 
my  name  for  larger  values  than  it  has  ever  been  connec- 
ted with  since.  I  remember  giving  a  receipt  to  A.  T.  Stew- 
art for  $226,000,  covering  the  amount  of  the  special  ten 
per  cent,  war  tax  for  1864-65  on  his  income  for  the  pre- 
ceding year,  an  income  which  had,  as  may  be  calculated, 
amounted  to  nearly  two  and  a  half  million  dollars. 

In  the  spring  of  1866,  I  think  it  must  have  been  in 
March,  there  was  held  in  Baltimore  a  convention  in  the 
interest  of  President  Andrew  Johnson,  which,  from  the 
name  of  the  Pennsylvania  politician  who  managed  the  pro- 
ceedings, was  known  as  the  Randall  Convention.  My 
father,  as  an  office-holder,  had  properly  kept  himself  out 
of  active  politics.  In  the  issues  that  had  arisen  between 
President  Johnson  and  his  opponents  in  Congress,  my 
father's  sympathies  were,  on  the  whole,  with  Congress, 
although  later,  when  in  February,  1868,  the  House  voted 
for  the  impeachment  of  the  President,  he  found  himself  in 
accord  with  the  group  of  Senators,  headed  by  Lyman 
Trumbull,  who  opposed  the  impeachment.  He  could, 
however,  hardly  be  called  an  active  supporter  of  the 
Administration.  The  treasurer  of  the  Administration 
faction  of  the  Republican  party  sent  out  the  assessment 
to  office-holders,  which  was  usual  in  those  days,  to  cover 
the  expenses  incurred  in  connection  with  the  convention. 
My  father  found  reason  to  protest  against  the  assessment 


Political  Assessments  353 

that  came  to  him,  not  only  on  general  principles,  but 
because  it  was,  as  he  found  by  comparison  with  the 
amounts  demanded  from  other  office-holders,  based  upon 
the  calculation  that  he  was  making  out  of  his  office  twice 
as  much  as  he  was  legally  entitled  to  make.  The  assump- 
tion was  in  itself  an  insult.  The  whole  theory  of  the 
assessment  of  office-holders  for  political  expenses,  while 
not  as  thoroughly  argued  out  and  discountenanced  in 
1866  as  it  came  to  be  twenty-five  years  later,  was  already 
something  that  independent  holders  of  office  were  entitled 
to  resent  and  did  resent.  My  father  declined  to  pay  the 
assessment.  Within  twenty-four  hours  after  the  receipt, 
by  the  party  treasurer,  of  his  declination,  he  was  removed 
from  the  office.  He  was  not  even  permitted,  as  is  usual  in 
all  such  cases  of  political  dismissal,  to  go  through  the  form 
of  resignation.  I  am  not  sure  that  he  would  have  been 
willing,  under  the  circumstances,  to  send  in  a  resignation ; 
but  he  should,  of  course,  have  been  allowed  so  to  do.  He 
was  directed  by  President  Johnson,  within  twenty-four 
hours  after  the  receipt  of  his  notification,  to  turn  over  to 
his  successor  the  books,  papers,  and  moneys  in  his  hands 
belonging  to  the  Government. 

The  transfer  was  made  in  due  course,  and  my  father 
secured  from  Mr.  H.— — ,  his  successor  (previously  known 
only  as  a  liquor  dealer),  receipts  for  the  material  contained 
in  the  office,  including,  in  addition  to  the  funds  and  the 
books  of  account,  the  schedules  of  taxes  remaining  to  be 
collected.  A  couple  of  days  after  the  receipt  from  the 
President  of  the  order  of  dismissal,  my  father  received 
from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  a  very  cordially  worded 
letter  recalling  the  fact  that  his  important  office  had  been 
administered  for  four  years  with  full  integrity  and  with 
exceptional  tact  and  ability,  and  that  during  that  time  a 
certain  number  of  millions  of  dollars  (I  do  not  at  this  time 
recall  the  amount)  had  passed  through  his  hands  into  the 


354  George  Palmer  Putnam 

national  Treasury.  "The  administration  of  the  office 
has,"  said  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  "met  with  the 
full  approval  of  the  Treasury  Department."  This  letter 
was  printed  in  the  Evening  Post,  followed  by  the  brief  word 
from  the  President: 

You  are  hereby  dismissed  from  the  office  of  Collector  of 
the  Eighth  District  of  the  City  of  New  York,  such  dismissal 
to  take  effect  twenty-four  hours  after  the  receipt  of  this  notice. 
You  will  turn  over  the  books,  papers,  and  funds  belonging  to 
the  office  to  the  successor  who  has  been  appointed  to  receive 
the  same.     Andrew  Johnson,  President,  etc. 

No  comment  was  necessary  to  render  these  two  letters 
an  emphatic  picture  of  the  status  of  the  United  States  civil 
service  of  the  time. 

It  was  only  through  his  dismissal  from  office  that  my 
father  came  to  realise  one  important  and  most  inequitable 
feature  in  the  dealings  of  the  United  States  Government 
with  its  financial  agents.  Under  the  system  in  force  at 
the  time,  my  father  was  called  upon  to  give  receipts  to 
the  assessor  for  the  lists  or  schedules  of  taxes  as  arrived 
at  in  the  assessor's  office  and  transferred  to  him  for  col- 
lection. It  is  my  memory  that,  in  the  Eighth  District, 
these  schedules  aggregated  for  the  year  about  fourteen 
millions  of  dollars.  The  amount  so  turned  over  by  the 
assessors  was  debited  by  the  Treasury  Department  to  the 
Collector,  and  was  made  a  personal  charge  against  him 
and  his  bondsmen.  Against  this  amount  he  was  credited 
with  amounts  collected  from  week  to  week  upon  the  lists 
or  schedules  in  question,  and  with  the  amounts  abated  as 
a  result  of  the  applications  of  taxpayers  for  correction  or 
cancellation.  According  to  ordinary  business  routine, 
he  ought  to  have  received  a  third  and  final  credit  for  the 
amounts  remaining  uncollected  at  the  time  the  lists 
were  turned  over  to  his  successor.    The  signature  of  such 


Government  MetHods  355 

successor  for  these  amounts  should  have  constituted  a 
voucher  or  quittance,  and  if  the  amount  of  such  voucher, 
together  with  the  amounts  previously  credited  for  col- 
lections and  abatements,  equalled  the  entire  amounts 
originally  debited  on  the  schedules  as  receipted  for,  the 
Collector  and  his  bondsmen  should  have  been  relieved 
from  further  liability.  The  outgoing  Collector  could,  of 
course,  himself  do  nothing  further  in  regard  to  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  collections  on  these  original  schedules.  He 
had,  indeed,  no  official  right  even  to  visit  the  office  or  to 
demand  the  privilege  of  examining  the  lists.  He  was,  in 
fact,  permitted  to  ascertain,  from  month  to  month,  what 
progress  his  successor  had  made  in  bringing  the  collections 
to  a  close,  but  he  had  no  means  of  hastening  the  business. 
His  successor  and  his  successor's  bondsmen  were  made  in 
like  manner  responsible  for  the  entire  amount  of  the 
schedules  so  turned  over.  This  additional  responsibility 
was,  however,  not  permitted  to  lessen  the  liability  of  my 
father  or  of  his  bondsmen. 

Within  twelve  months  after  my  father  was  put  out  of 
office,  his  successor,  the  liquor  dealer,  suffered  a  similar 
fate.  I  understood  that  his  difficulty  was  not  political.  A 
third  Collector  and  his  bondsmen  were  made  responsible 
for  the  uncollected  portions  of  these  original  old  schedules. 
The  difficulty  of  securing  information  as  to  the  clearing 
up  of  the  schedules  was  still  greater  than  before.  The 
surviving  bondsmen  were  naturally  annoyed  at  this  con- 
tinuing liability,  but  there  was  no  redress.  A  government 
which  treats  its  servants  in  this  manner  cannot  expect  to 
secure  the  best  service.  Even  at  this  day,  with  the  multi- 
plying responsibilities  at  home  or  abroad  attaching  to 
government  officials,  we  are  only  beginning  to  learn  the 
rudiments  of  such  a  civilised  system  of  office-holding  as 
has  for  a  large  part  of  a  century  been  in  force  in  England 
and  in  Germany. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
G.  P.  Putnam  &.  Sons 

IN  surrendering  his  office  in  March,  1866,  the  only  course 
open  to  my  father  was  to  return  to  his  old-time  pub- 
lishing business.  In  this  he  had  the  advantage  of  a 
name  that  was  still  favourably  remembered  by  the  literary 
public  and  with  the  book- trade.  He  had  also  remaining 
within  his  control  the  plates  of  living's  works  and  of  other 
books  which  still  possessed  selling  value.  It  was,  on  the 
other  hand,  by  no  means  an  easy  task  to  build  up,  in  the 
face  of  ordinary  business  competition  and  with  inconsider- 
able cash  capital,  a  business  adequate  to  provide  for  the 
needs  of  a  family  of  ten  children. 

Premises  were  secured  on  the  second  floor  of  the  house 
No.  661  Broadway,  facing  Bond  Street.  The  plates 
and  publications  remaining  with  Hurd  &  Houghton 
were  again  placed  in  his  hands  and  the  new  publishing 
business  was  initiated  with  the  preparation  of  a  new  edi- 
tion (known  as  the  Knickerbocker)  of  that  very  satisfac- 
tory standby,  Irving' s  works.  Correspondence  was 
entered  into  with  literary  friends  in  New  York,  London, 
and  elsewhere,  which  promised  sooner  or  later  to  bring 
into  the  new  publishing  office  material  of  value. 

While  his  cash  capital  was  smaller  than  was  desirable, 
my  father's  credit  was  excellent.  His  difficulties  in  1857 
had  not  impaired  the  confidence  of  his  business  associates 

356 


Rowayion  NeigKbours  357 

in  his  trustworthiness,  a  confidence  that  had  naturally- 
been  confirmed  or  strengthened  by  his  action  in  1 862-1 864, 
in  paying  off  balances  of  indebtedness  for  which  he  had 
already  received  full  quittance.  There  was,  therefore, 
no  difficulty  in  securing,  subject  to  time  settlements, 
printing  and  binding  facilities,  paper  supplies,  etc.  It 
became  evident  also  that  the  imprint  of  "Putnam"  still 
retained  value  for  attracting  literary  material.  We  suc- 
ceeded (although  this  was  not  accomplished  until  1868)  in 
finding  a  purchaser  for  the  little  property  at  Ro  way  ton. 
The  following  letter  from  some  of  the  neighbours  in  the 
Connecticut  village  where  the  family  had  for  six  years  had 
its  home  is  interesting  as  an  evidence  of  the  affectionate 
regard  in  which  my  father  was  held. 

Rowayton,  June  20,  1867. 

Mr.  George  P.  Putnam, 

Dear  Friend: 

We,  your  fellow-townsmen,  understanding  that  you  have 
in  contemplation  the  changing  of  your  residence  from  among 
us,  feel  deeply  concerned  on  the  subject.  We  hope  that  you 
may  be  induced  to  stay  with  us  and  to  work  with  us  and  for 
us  as  heretofore.  We  hope  that  we  may  in  the  future  under- 
stand each  other  better.  You  should  know  that  although 
there  may  have  been  differences  of  opinion  among  us  in  regard 
to  the  name  of  our  village,  we  have  for  yourself  the  highest 
personal  regard;  we  believe  you  to  be  the  soul  of  honour 
and  benevolence  and  an  uncommonly  useful  member  of  our 
growing  village. 

After  consultation  together,  we  thought  it  our  duty  to  let 
you  know  in  this  way  that  we  do  appreciate  the  benefits  that 
have  been  received  at  your  hands.  We  owe  thanks  to  you 
for  the  generous  donation  for  the  building  for  our  new  station 
and  also  for  your  influence  in  securing  the  land.  We  thank 
you  also  for  your  all-valuable  influence  in  securing  the  good- 
will of  the  Railroad  Company.  We  are  appreciative  of  the 
service  rendered  by  the  Lyceum  that  was  planned  and  started 


358  George  Palmer  Putnam 

by  yourself  and  for  the  library  which  was  carried  on  by  your- 
self without  money  and  without  price.  You  have  also  been 
thoughtful  in  loaning  for  the  use  of  our  people  pictures  and 
curiosities,  and  in  placing  at  their  disposal  without  charge 
numerous  daily  and  weekly  papers.  You  exerted  yourself 
earnestly  on  our  behalf  so  that  we  might  have  a  post-office, 
and  it  is  largely  through  your  influence  that  other  citizens  of 
importance  and  talent  have  come  to  reside  with  us.  You 
have  laid  out  money  in  beautifying  and  in  adorning  the  pro- 
perty that  you  own,  and  in  doing  all  that  was  possible  to  make 
our  village  an  attractive  and  desirable  residence.  We  hope 
very  much  that  you  will  reconsider  your  plans  for  leaving  and 
that  you  will  retain  your  home  among  us. 

Believe  us  to  be  your  friends  and  well-wishers. 

This  testimonial,  the  cordiality  of  which  fairly  offsets 
certain  inadequacies  in  the  literary  style,  was  signed  by 
fifty  of  the  village  residents. 

In  arranging  the  office  work  of  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Son, 
my  father  placed  upon  me  the  responsibility  of  taking  care 
of  the  accounts  and  the  finances  of  the  concern,  reserving 
for  himself  the  general  direction  of  the  literary  under- 
takings, and  the  supervision  of  the  book-manufacturing. 

The  figures,  or  at  least  those  that  represented  the  net 
proceeds,  were,  during  these  earlier  years  of  our  partner- 
ship, by  no  means  as  large  as  they  ought  to  have  been 
to  make  an  assured  foundation  for  the  business  of  the  new 
firm,  and  the  years  in  question  included,  therefore,  not  a 
few  times  of  serious  perplexities  and  anxieties,  and  brought 
with  them  many  burdensome  cares.  The  junior  partner 
had  zeal  enough  and  "worked  for  all  he  was  worth,"  but 
without  business  training  or  experience,  and  unskilled  in 
affairs,  he  was  hardly  in  a  position  to  render  any  very 
valuable  service  in  building  up  the  business,  while  he  was 
doubtless  responsible  for  his  full  share  of  the  mistakes. 
During  this  whole  period  of  our  partnership,  however, 


G.  P.  Putnam  &.  Sons  359 

whatever  the  worries  or  the  disappointments,  I  do  not 
recall  a  single  occasion  in  which  a  bitter  or  even  an  impa- 
tient word  came  from  the  senior.  The  sweet  gentleness 
and  sturdy  patience  of  his  nature  seemed  to  be  proof 
against  all  trials.  With  his  keen  sense  of  justice,  my 
father  never  permitted  himself  to  make  those  about  him 
unhappy  or  uncomfortable  because  he  himself  was  in 
trouble  or  because  his  calculations  had  gone  wrong.  Even 
when  there  was  legitimate  cause  for  reprimand  or  for 
criticism,  the  word  of  reproof  was  always  administered 
with  so  much  personal  consideration  and  with  such  evi- 
dent hesitancy  and  regret  that  the  principal  feeling  pro- 
duced upon  the  delinquent  was  one  of  sympathy  with  the 
chief  that  he  should  have  found  occasion  for  so  painful  a 
duty. 

The  office  staff  was  small,  and  under  a  chief  of  such  a 
temperament,  it  took  rather  the  character  of  a  family 
circle.  Mr.  F.  B.  Perkins  came  in  and  out  of  the  office 
in  his  capacity  of  literary  adviser  or  reader,  and  after  the 
refounding  of  Putnam's  Magazine,  established  an  editorial 
desk,  with  one  or  two  assistants.  Perkins  possessed  an 
inexhaustible  fund  of  humour,  not  hampered  by  any  bump 
of  reverence,  and  the  hours  when  he  was  present  were  not 
infrequently  lightened  up  (or  interrupted,  according  as  we 
took  it)  by  more  or  less  relevant  witticisms  connected 
with  the  correspondence  or  the  happenings  of  the  day. 

In  187 1,  my  brother  Bishop  became  a  partner  in  the  con- 
cern, which  took  the  title  of  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Sons;  and  in 
1872,  my  brother  Irving  was  recalled  from  Amherst  College 
to  take  his  share  of  the  office  work  and  of  the  general 
responsibilities. 

Among  the  literary  plans  which  engaged  my  father's 
first  attention  in  again  taking  up  his  publishing  business 
was  one  for  the  re-establishment  of  Putnam's  Magazine. 
Correspondence  concerning  the  Magazine  went  on  during 


360  George  Palmer  Putnam 

the  latter  portion  of  1867  with  the  result  that  the  first 
number  of  the  reissue  or  second  series  was  in  readiness  by 
January,  1868.  The  conditions  seemed  to  be  in  certain 
ways  favourable  for  the  experiment.  The  close  of  the  war 
had  brought  a  substantial  revival  in  the  business  of  the 
country,  a  revival  which  was,  however,  for  years  to  come, 
interfered  with  and  hampered  by  the  unsettled  condition 
of  the  currency  and  by  the  continuance  of  the  oppressive 
war  taxes.  The  premium  on  gold  lasted,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  for  a  term  of  seven  or  eight  years  after  the  close 
of  the  war.  During  this  period  the  banks  continued  to 
be,  as  far  as  specie  payments  were  concerned,  in  a  state  of 
suspension.  Merchants  doing  business  with  Europe  were 
obliged  to  pay  higher  prices  for  their  goods  on  the  ground 
of  the  interference  with  credit  conditions  in  the  home 
market.  Prices  in  this  market  continued  high,  although, 
as  the  premium  on  gold  lasted,  there  was  from  half-year 
to  half-year  a  tendency  towards  lower  prices.  Such  a 
condition  naturally  interfered  with  a  wholesome  extension 
of  business.  Merchants  bought  from  hand  to  mouth  in 
the  expectation  that  in  the  near  future  they  might  be  able 
to  make  their  purchases  at  closer  rates.  The  special  war 
taxes  were  taken  off  American  manufactures,  and  after  a 
few  years  the  taxes  collected  through  check  stamps  and  on 
stamps  were  also  cancelled,  but  the  long  list  of  customs 
charges  remained  at  the  high  war  rates.  It  was  the  expec- 
tation that  in  1866,  as  the  Government  expenditures  were 
reduced,  these  customs  charges  would  also  be  scaled  down. 
Writing  forty-six  years  later,  it  is  not  easy  to  explain 
why,  in  place  of  this  expectation  being  carried  out,  the 
rates  of  duties  have  been  so  materially  increased.  While 
there  was  throughout  the  community  business  activity 
and  while  there  was  a  good  deal  of  money  in  circulation . 
much  of  which  had  been  made  in  war  contracts  and  in 
speculation  in  products  the  values  of  which  had  been 


Publishing  Conditions  361 

increased  by  the  war,  it  was  the  case  that  this  new  wealth 
was  very  largely  in  the  hands  of  citizens  not  interested  in 
literature. 

The  book-buying  conditions  of  the  South  had  of  neces- 
sity been  destroyed  by  the  war.  A  very  considerable 
portion  also  of  the  circles  of  people  in  the  North  who  had 
been  buyers  of  books  before  the  war  were  no  longer  able, 
in  the  years  succeeding  1866,  to  indulge  in  such  luxuries. 
These  were  the  people  who  had  fixed  incomes,  incomes 
which  were  payable  in  the  legal  tender  of  the  day.  During 
the  years  of  the  appreciation  of  gold,  the  legal-tender 
paper  dollars,  coming  to  rentiers  of  this  class,  brought  to 
their  possessors  so  much  smaller  return  for  their  incomes 
in  purchasing  power  or  in  the  value  of  necessities  of  life 
that  these  incomes  were  for  all  practical  purposes  mate- 
rially curtailed.  Thousands  of  retired  merchants,  women, 
and  others  no  longer  able  to  take  advantage  of  business 
opportunities  were,  through  this  change  in  currency  values, 
or  in  exchange  values,  reduced  to  comparative  poverty. 
These  were  the  people  who  had  constituted  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  book-buying  community.  The  nouveaux 
riches  who  had  made  money  out  of  shady  contracts  or 
from  po:k  speculations  could  not  easily  be  reached  by  the 
publishers  of  standard  literature.  It  was  the  case,  there- 
fore, not  only  during  the  war  years  but  for  some  time  there- 
after, that  the  sales  of  higher  class  books  continued  to  be 
disappointing.  The  only  offsetting  advantage  was  that 
during  the  decade  in  question  outsiders  were  not  tempted 
into  the  publishing  business  to  any  great  extent.  The 
market  was  curtailed  but  the  competition  was  not  so  sharp. 
This  seemed  to  give  an  opening  for  a  magazine  such  as  my 
father  was  able  to  put  into  shape.  Unfortunately,  the 
conditions  changed  too  rapidly  to  enable  him  to  secure  a 
satisfactory  success.  At  the  time  of  the  publication,  in 
1853,  of  the  first  series  of  Putnam's  Monthly,  the  returns 


362  George  Palmer  Putnam 

from  subscriptions  and  sales  came  in  with  sufficient 
promptness  to  provide  settlements  at  the  proper  time  for 
the  first  bills  of  the  printers  and  the  paper-makers.  In 
1868-71,  the  conditions  called  for  an  investment  of  cash 
capital  and  for  larger  resources  than  my  father  had 
available.  At  about  the  time  of  the  reissue  of  Putnam's 
Monthly  three  new  magazines  came  into  the  field — 
Scribner's,  Lippincott'  s  and  The  Galaxy,  all  backed  by 
ample  capital.  The  competition  for  the  service  of  the 
most  important  and  effective  contributors  became 
more  serious  than  that  for  subscribers,  and  my  father  was 
naturally  not  satisfied  to  accept  for  the  new  Putnam's 
a  lower  standard  of  excellence  than  had  been  maintained 
for  the  original  issue.  The  prices  for  the  write:  s  of  the 
first  class  went  up.  Authors  who,  in  the  days  of  the  first 
Putnam  s  Monthly,  had  been  content  with  from  three  to 
five  dollars  a  page,  were  now  in  a  position  to  secure  from 
ten  to  twenty,  while  for  special  contributions  much  larger 
payments  were  made.  The  competing  magazines  were 
also  making  provision  for  large  outlays  for  illustrations 
and,  beginning  with  1869,  the  art  of  printing  with  the  best 
possible  artistic  effects  large  impressions  of  carefully  made 
illustrations  was  developed  in  the  United  States  to  an 
extent  that  has  never  been  equalled  in  any  other  country. 
The  first  series  of  Putnam's  Monthly  had  proved  a  prac- 
ticable undertaking  with  a  circulation  ranging  from  twelve 
thousand  to,  at  the  highest,  twenty  thousand  copies. 
The  second  series,  which  secured  a  circulation  of  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  thousand,  proved  an  unremunerative 
venture.  The  six  volumes  issued  during  the  three  years 
of  its  publication  contained,  nevertheless,  a  good  deal  of 
interesting  material.  As  in  the  case  of  the  first  issue,  it 
was  my  father's  idea  to  secure  for  his  magazine  a  purely 
literary  character.  He  put  to  one  side  suggestions  for 
sensational  or  "clap-trap"  material,  and  he  also  (possibly 


"Putnam's   Magazine"  363 

with  erroneous  judgment)  decided  not  to  attempt  the 
attraction  of  illustrations.  His  principal  competitor  for 
a  circle  of  readers  demanding  higher  grade  literature  was, 
during  these  years,  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  which,  at  that 
time,  bore  the  imprint  of  Fields,  Osgood  &  Co.,  the  suc- 
cessors of  Ticknor  &  Fields.  In  1871,  my  father  decided 
that  it  would  not  be  wise  for  him,  with  the  resources 
available,  to  continue  the  publication  of  the  monthly  in 
the  face  of  competition  such  as  that  above  referred  to. 
The  subscription  lists  and  good-will  of  the  monthly  were 
transferred  to  Messrs.  Scribner  and  constituted  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  foundation  of  their  own  new 
magazine. 

The  editorial  responsibility  for  the  first  year's  issue  of 
the  second  Putnam's  rested  in  the  main  with  my  father. 
He  associated  with  him  Mr.  Frederick  Beecher  Perkins  for 
the  second  and  third  years  and,  if  I  remember  rightly, 
Mr.  Perkins  was  then  called  the  editor.  The  "Word  to 
the  Reader,"  which  appears  in  the  first  number  for  Jan- 
uary, 1868,  was  written  by  the  publisher  himself.  He 
states  that  the  leading  object  of  his  magazine  is 

to  set  forth  the  discussions  of  questions  of  public  policy,  religion, 
education,  science,  our  industrial  pursuits,  finance,  political 
economy,  and  social  science,  with  adequate  provision  also  for 
the  various  departments  of  general  literature  in  fiction,  poetry, 
and  essays.  .  .  .  Putnam's  Magazine,  holding  an  intermediate 
position  between  the  daily  or  weekly  newspaper  and  the 
quarterly  review,  will  endeavour  to  present  the  ease  and  at- 
tractiveness, the  interest  and  the  novelty  of  the  one  with  some- 
thing of  the  solidity  of  the  other,  that  it  may,  as  it  appears 
month  after  month,  be  taken  up  with  pleasure  and  be  found 
worthy  of  preservation  as  an  enduring  portion  of  the  literature 
of  the  country. 

The  sixth  and  concluding  volume  contains  the  pub- 


364  George  Palmer  Putnam 

lisher's  notice  announcing  the  close  of  the  publication  of 
Putnam's  Monthly.  I  judge  from  the  wording  of  this 
notice  that  it  is  from  the  pen  of  my  father.  He  says, 
among  other  things,  that  his  magazine 

had  secured  a  larger  circulation  than  several  of  its  contempora- 
ries at  home  and  much  larger  than  that  ol  a  dozen  of  the 
English  magazines  whose  names  have  for  many  years  been 
familiar.  It  is,  however,  evident  that  the  paying  popular  taste 
calls  for  something  different ;  it  may  be  higher  or  lower,  better 
or  worse;  but  those  who  pay  the  money  have  a  right  to  the 
choice.  We  have  meant  from  the  first  to  produce  a  magazine 
wholly  original  and  essentially  American,  i.e.,  devoted  largely 
to  American  topics.  We  have  avoided  all  temptations  to 
reprint  from  foreign  magazines  or  to  cater  for  anything  merely 
sensational.  In  this  we  may  have  been  quixotic,  but  the 
aim  at  least  was  high.  Doubtless  better  things  may  be  done 
in  this  direction  than  we  have  been  able  to  effect;  but  so  far 
the  best  material  sent  to  us  out  of  over  three  thousand  manu- 
scripts, or  at  least  those  papers  which  we  believed  would  prove 
the  most  acceptable  to  our  readers,  have  been  printed  in  the 
six  volumes  now  published 

Appended  to  the  notice  is  a  little  balance-sheet  show- 
ing that  "cash  had  been  paid  to  contributors  amount- 
ing to  something  over  $30,000,"  and  that  the  entire  outlay 
had  been  something  over  $100,000. 

The  closing  of  this  second  series  of  the  magazine  was  a 
very  keen  personal  disappointment  to  the  publisher  whose 
name  it  bore.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  shock  that  really  added 
at  once  to  my  father's  age.  The  feeling  that  he  was  no 
longer  in  touch  with  the  reading  public,  that  his  literary 
judgment  could  not  be  depended  upon  as  trustworthy, 
that  his  personal  influence  could  not  bring  into  his  office, 
in  the  face  of  the  competition  of  other  publishers,  the  best 
literary  material  of  the  day,  the  hampering  restriction  of 
want  of  adequate  resources  with  which  to  carry  out  larger 


"  Putnam's  Magazine  "  365 

and  more  permanent  literary  plans — all  these  things 
weighed  upon  him  in  a  manner  that  would  not  have  been 
possible  in  the  earlier  years  when  he  still  possessed  full 
physical  vigour  and  with  this  maintained  his  natural  elas- 
ticity of  temperament.  In  years  he  was  still  fairly  young, 
but  it  was  evident  that  in  vitality  or  in  working  strength 
the  corner  had  been  turned. 

This  reference  to  Putnam's  Monthly  may  be  completed 
by  the  presentation  of  the  publisher's  account  of  his  later 
visit  to  London  and  by  the  "Leaves  from  a  Publisher's 
Letter-Book,"  both  of  which  were  printed  in  the  magazine. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Some  THings  in  London  and  Paris — 
1836-1869 

Changes — The  Voyage — English  Notes — Travelling  in  Olden 
Time — Modern  Improvements — Tabernacles  and  Cathe- 
drals— Parliament — John  Bright — Authors — Publishers 
— Cheap  Books — Mercantile  Honour — English  Ethics  on 
Rebellion — Museums  of  Art — Paris  and  its  Renovations 
— The  Emperor  and  Abraham  Lincoln — Laboulaye — 
Dor 6,  etc. 

THIRTY-THREE  years  ago  this  month,  I  landed  in 
Liverpool  from  the  packet-ship  England,  from  New- 
York,  and  made  the  most  of  six  months  in  England 
and  on  the  Continent.  In  a  residence  of  ten  years  in  London, 
interspersed  with  a  dozen  trips  across  the  Atlantic,  between 
1836  and  1847,  I  had  a  chance  to  note  some  of  the  changes  and 
comparative  ills  and  advantages  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic, 
which  a  very  dull  person  could  hardly  fail  to  observe  with 
profit. 

To  revisit  London  and  Paris  after  such  an  interval,  and  to 
compare  1869  with  1836,  was  to  me  a  sensation — an  item  in 
one's  personal  remembrances  of  peculiar  interest. 

One  of  the  first  things  to  be  remarked  is  the  truism  that  the 
European  trip  of  to-day  has  become  so  common  as  to  require 
positive  genius  to  place  it  in  any  new  light.  What  was  com- 
paratively distant,  novel,  and  mysterious  in  the  last  genera- 
tion is  now  familiar  in  our  mouths  as  household  words.     The 

166 


London  in  1869  367 

full-grown  man  or  woman  who  has  not  "  done  "  the  whole  is  be- 
coming more  of  a  novelty  than  the  lions  themselves.  These 
notes,  then,  simply  refer  to  some  of  the  changes  and  signs  of 
progress  during  the  "generation"  last  past. 

And,  first,  of  the  vessels  that  take  you.  In  1836,  the  bright- 
sided  "liners,"  the  sailing  packet-ships  of  New  York,  were  our 
pride  and  boast.  Ranging  from  600  to  900  tons  (a  mere  yacht 
in  these  days),  their  fine  models,  excellent  accommodations, 
and  wide-awake,  "gentlemanly"  captains,  were  proverbial 
all  over  the  world.     Where  are  they  now? 

Two  trips  in  the  England,  with  the  well-known  Captain 
Waite,  and  two  in  the  Margaret  Evans,  with  the  always  popu- 
lar E.  G.  Tinker  (both  now  retired  with  honourable  independ- 
ence), then  in  the  St.  James,  then  another  in  the  grade  of 
vessels  next  afloat — the  Collins  line — and  then  good-bye  to 
sailing  vessels.  A  new  era  commences.  It  was  my  fortune  to 
have  a  trial  of  nearly  all  the  rival  lines  for  the  passenger  trade 
between  1839  and  1851:  the  Caledonia,  Canada,  and  Cambria 
of  the  Cunarders,  the  Great  Western  (second  vessel  of  all  in 
the  field),  the  Great  Liverpool, — a  peninsular  steamer,  reck- 
lessly sent  across  the  Atlantic  in  a  winter  voyage  and  narrowly 
escaping  the  bottom, — the  ill-fated  President  on  her  last  trip 
to  New  York,  two  trips  in  the  American  steamers  Hermann 
in  1849  and  the  Franklin  in  1851. 

These  sufficed  to  give  one  a  specimen  of  progressive  im- 
provements in  "floating  palaces,"  so  called,  and  in  some  of  the 
perils  of  navigation.  Six  of  these  vessels  were  afterwards 
utterly  lost ;  and  of  two,  the  England  (sailing)  and  the  Pre- 
sident (steamer),  no  tidings  whatever  were  ever  received. 
Probably  the  loss  of  life  at  sea,  at  least  in  "regular"  packets, 
is  not  much  greater  in  average  than  on  railways,  but  there  is 
enough  to  show  that  no  human  skill  is  infallible. 

With  but  little  knowledge  of  the  merits  of  recent  lines,  I 
found  myself  almost  at  random  aboard  the  Westphalia,  of  the 
Hamburg  line.  A  greater  advance  over  the  vessels  of  olden 
time,  which  I  had  known,  could  not  be  expected  even  with 
these  twenty  years  of  experiment. 

The  older  Cunarders  and  the  Hermann  and  Franklin  were 


368  George  Palmer  Putnam 

about  1 200  tons,  and  were  then  the  marvels  of  genius.  The 
ships  of  this  Hamburg  line  are  of  3000  tons,  all  "screws," 
most  substantially  built  (on  the  Clyde,  by  the  way)  of  iron, 
and  fitted  up  comfortably  and  luxuriously  enough  for  a  prince, 
and  admirably  managed.  I  write  this  in  the  Hammoma,  on 
my  return.  The  Westphalia  is  still  finer,  and  the  Cimbria  and 
Holsatia  are  of  the  same  grade.  Officers  and  stewards  civil 
and  attentive,  in  notable  contrast  to  the  martinet  ways  of 
the  Cunarders;  and  the  table  superabundantly  provided  with 
delicacies  by  a  French  cook.  Our  trip,  though  in  February, 
was  but  nine  days  and  eight  hours  to  Cowes,  and,  compared 
with  any  of  the  fourteen  trips  of  former  years,  it  was  as 
superior  in  comfort  as  it  was  in  speed. 

That  superb  morning  when  we  passed  the  Needles,  with  a 
full  moon  in  a  clear  sky  on  one  side,  and  the  red  light  on  those 
picturesque  rocks  on  the  other,  was  a  delicious  surprise, 
especially  as  one  is  so  apt  to  be  met  on  these  coasts  by  a  cold, 
raw  fog  or  drizzling  rain.  This  agreeable  reception  was 
enhanced  half  an  hour  later  off  Cowes,  where  her  Majesty's 
steam  yacht  appeared  as  if  all  ready  to  greet  us,  and  the 
Queen  herself,  with  the  whole  household,  left  Osborne  House 
(off  which  we  had  anchored)  and  preceded  us  in  said  yacht  to 
Southampton,  and  thence  on  the  railway  to  London — blocking 
us,  by  the  way,  on  the  track  for  a  couple  of  hours.  While 
listening  to  the  impatient  jokes  of  our  German  neighbour  in 
the  cars  during  this  delay,  it  was  natural  to  look  back  to  1836, 
when  I  first  saw  the  fair  young  Princess  Victoria,  just  seven- 
teen, with  her  mother,  at  a  musical  festival  in  Exeter  Hall — 
then  "the  expectancy  and  rose  of  the  fairstate" — butattract- 
ing  no  very  marked  observation,  and  looking  like  many  other 
damsels  of  her  age  in  the  audience.  Five  years  later,  sitting 
in  the  gardens  of  the  Temple  on  the  9th  November,  to  see  the 
Lord  Mayor's  gingerbread  barge,  I  heard  the  guns  which  pro- 
claimed the  birth  of  her  first  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales.  I  had 
been  permitted  meanwhile  to  "assist"  at  a  soiree,  and  also  at 
a  public  dinner,  both  attended  in  a  sort  of  "state"  by  H.R.H. 
Prince  Albert — and  what  a  handsome,  well-formed,  sensibly 
behaved  young  man  he  was!     The  sables  still  worn  by  the 


London  in  1869  369 

stout,  matronly  Queen,  and  the  monuments  everywhere 
erected  to  her  worthy  and  useful  consort,  show  that  he  is 
freshly  remembered — and  his  works  do  follow  him.  The  ci- 
devant  maiden  of  sweet  seventeen  is  now  fat  if  not  fair,  and 
some  dozen  children  call  her  "Grandmother." 

Towns  like  Southampton  continue  to  be  as  essentially  and 
distinctively  English  as  they  were  in  the  last  generation — the 
same  substantial  stone  piers,  the  same  snug,  compact  streets 
and  shops,  the  same  cosey  inns,  with  their  cold  joints  and 
muffins  and  excellent  tea  for  breakfast,  the  same  threepence 
to  the  waiter  and  the  "boots,"  the  same  general  air  of  decent 
comfort  in  the  snug-looking  houses  of  the  "trades-people," 
without  a  particle  of  superfluous  ornament  or  frippery.  Com- 
ing to  the  railway  station,  a  "  N.  Y.  &  New  Haven"  passenger 
remarks  rather  the  freedom  and  absence  of  red  tape,  and  the 
quiet,  easy  fashion  of  things,  less  show  and  even  less  comfort 
in  the  famous  "first-class"  compartments  than  one  remembers 
of  the  first  days  of  English  railways.  But  to  go  back  still 
farther,  when  railways  were  not,  one  cannot  help  remembering 
the  slower  but  more  picturesque  and  exhilarating  locomotion 
of  olden  time, — even  as  late  as  1836, — when  we  mounted  to 
the  box  or  sat  with  the  guard  on  the  top  of  the  "Royal  Mail " 
coach,  and  the  coachman,  cracking  his  whip  over  his  spirited 
"team"  of  four  unexceptionable  bays,  groomed  and  harnessed 
to  a  nicety,  we  bowled  along  over  the  hard,  smooth  roads  at 
the  rate  of  ten  to  twelve  miles  an  hour,  and  absurdly  supposed 
the  perfection  of  travelling  had  been  reached.  Or,  again, 
when  on  a  dewy  morning  we  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  a  drive  in 
an  English  post-chaise  (d  la  milord),  with  four  horses  and  a 
postilion  to  each  pair,  and  dashed  with  gentlemanly  speed 
along  those  delicious  byways  and  hedge-lined  cross-roads, 
to  do  the  "lions"  in  Derbyshire  and  Warwickshire — to  "real- 
ise" our  schoolboy  dreams  of  Shakespearean  Stratford-on- 
Avon,  and  lordly  Blenheim,  and  monastic  Oxford,  and  baronial 
Warwick,  and  magnificent  Chatsworth,  and  romantic  Haddon 
Hall;  or  when  we  used  to  roam  over  the  softly  carpeted  hills 
of  Kent  and  read  Boswell  at  Tunbridge  Wells  and  Sidney's 
Arcadia  at  Penshurst,  and  Chaucer  at  Canterbury,  and  King 
24 


370  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Lear  under  Shakespeare's  Cliff  at  Dover;  or  imbibed  Gray's 
Odes  and  Elegy  at  Windsor  and  Stoke  Park,  and  Pope's  couplets 
at  Twickenham,  and  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  at  Loch  Katrine. 
All  these  remembrances  of  real  enjoyment  of  former  days  in 
rural  England — away  from  the  iron  track,  and  even  before 
iron  tracks  existed — all  these  rose  up  in  memory  like  an  ex- 
halation, as  we  took  our  seats  to  ride  to  London  in  the  modern 
humdrum  compartment  from  which  the  "country"  and  the 
chimney-tops  can  be  seen  at  the  rate  of  from  thirty  to  sixty 
miles  per  hour. 

At  Waterloo  Station,  cabs  in  abundance  stand  by  the  plat- 
form ready  for  yourself  and  your  luggage,  and  a  plainly 
printed  card  of  their  lawful  fares — 6d.  (12  cents)  per  mile, 
or  2s.  (50  cents)  per  hour — is  posted  in  each  cab.  Observe: 
you  pay  for  yourself  and  luggage  for  the  first  mile,  say  25  cents, 
and  12  cents  for  each  additional  mile;  and  no  grumbling  about 
it.  In  this  point  London  cabbies  have  improved.  When  will 
New  York  follow  suit? 

Whirling  over  Waterloo  Bridge,  through  the  Strand,  Tra- 
falgar Square,  and  Regent  Street,  my  first  impression  was  that 
even  the  latter  appeared  less  stately  than  of  yore.  In  fact, 
our  recent  mercantile  marble,  iron,  and  brownstone  palaces 
of  Broadway  have  dwarfed  the  stuccoed  grandeur  of  the 
famous  street  of  George  the  Fourth — and  I  began  to  wonder 
whether  this  was  really  the  great  Babylon  of  my  romantic 
days.  Only  the  more  deliberate  comparisons  of  recent  archi- 
tectural improvements  of  this  vast  metropolis  sufficed  to  prove 
its  enormous  advances — outstripping  in  proportion  even  our 
wide-awake  cities  of  the  West.  Chicago  herself  has  scarcely 
grown  more  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  than  this  ancient 
and  unweildy  "metropolis  of  the  world." 

The  "  Langham"  and  the"  Charing  Cross"  are  the  new  hotels 
for  the  times,  and  so  I  tried  them  both.  Stately  as  the  former 
appears  as  you  look  down  Portland  Place,  the  Londoners  say 
it  has  spoiled  the  symmetry  of  that  lordly  street.  Where  it 
stands,  the  famous  Lord  Mansfield  used  to  live,  and  the  Czar 
Nicholas,  whom  I  had  seen  in  London  in  i844~'5.  "put  up" 
at  Mansfield  House.     The  Langham,  with  its  six  stories  of 


London  in  1869  371 

solid  masonry,  already  well  smoked,  and  its  American  manager 
(Mr.  Sanderson),  has  not  yet,  they  say,  paid  large  dividends 
to  its  company  (limited).  Its  cost  was  large,  and  the  results 
have  not  justified  the  outlay,  even  after  all  the  advantage  of 
Yo-semitic-Hiawathan-entertainment.  The  "plan"  of  this 
house  promised  a  combination  of  the  excellencies  of  the  English, 
French,  and  American  systems.  Let  us  hope  that  in  attempt- 
ing all,  the  company  may  not  fail  to  reach  either.  Of  course 
the  house  is  comfortable; — any  English  country  inn  is  that ; — 
but  it  lacks  something  of  the  cheerful  conveniences  and  elegant 
economies  of  the  best  French  and  American  hotels.  The 
dull  dimness  of  the  stately  corridors  gives  one  the  blues.  It 
caters,  apparently,  to  American  customers,  and  takes  the 
N.  Y.  Times — but  the  latest  number  on  the  files  was  a  month 
older  than  that  I  had  myself  brought. 

A  new  hotel  of  the  same  class,  apparently,  is  the  Alexandra, 
■ — in  Piccadilly,  opposite  Hyde  Park, — a  more  lively  and  equally 
convenient  situation,  where  one  sees  more  of  the  outside 
world  at  a  glance. 

The  Charing  Cross — a  huge  structure  at  the  railway-station 
of  that  name — is  another  "novelty"  to  me — substantial, 
bustling,  almost  dizzying  by  its  constant  whirl  of  active  life — 
for  it  is  at  the  very  heart  of  London.  Looking  from  my  fourth- 
floor  window  out  upon  the  familiar  tail  of  the  lion  on  North- 
umberland House — (town-home  of  "the  Percy's  high-born 
race") — I  could  not  help  wondering  how  the  present  owner 
of  this  ancient  and  wealthy  dukedom  likes  being  jostled  so 
briskly  and  so  closely  by  modern  improvements — locomotives 
smoking  and  wheezing  and  cabs  rumbling  under  his  very 
windows. 

At  the  immense  "station"  immediately  adjoining  this  hotel, 
trains  with  locomotives  arrive  and  depart  every  few  minutes 
— either  on  the  Dover  track  or  to  the  Crystal  Palace  and  the 
suburbs,  or  to  the  other  stations  of  the  metropolitan  or  under- 
ground railway.  But  the  comparative  order  and  quiet,  the 
absence  of  all  loud  calls  or  locomotive  shrieks,  the  smooth, 
easy  gliding  of  the  cars,  without  any  needless  noise  or  confusion, 
are  in  such  strong  contrast  to  the  aspect  of  one  of  our  large 


372  George  Palmer  Putnam 

"depots"  (when  shall  we  quash  this  word  and  say  "station"?) 
that  one  can  hardly  realise  at  first  how  much  business  is  going 
on.  A  mere  glance  at  these  operations  at  Charing  Cross — 
with  all  its  details  and  surroundings — such  as  a  first-rate  hotel, 
a  restaurant,  a  lunch-room,  where  you  are  well  and  civilly 
served  with  appetising  bits  (Mugby  Junction  is  defunct) 
and  at  "prices  to  suit" — the  railway  library  and  news-stand 
on  the  platform,  where  you  buy  a  good  novel  for  a  shilling, 
and  your  Daily  News  or  Telegraph  for  one  penny,  your  Echo 
for  a  ha'penny  (a  well-printed  doable  evening  journal),  and 
your  Judy  and  Echoes  for  twopence,  and  are  thanked  for  doing 
it — with  every  other  suggestion  for  the  agreeable  and  com- 
fortable start  on  your  journey,  whether  it  is  to  London  Bridge, 
or  to  Australia — all  these  systematic  arrangements  are  so  nearly 
perfect  as  to  make  an  American  growl  with  disgust  when  he 
thinks  of  the  miserable  shanties  of  the  Jersey  ferry,  whence 
one  starts  on  the  great  national  route  to  the  American  metro- 
polis— and  where  a  Senator  and  an  apple-woman  or  bootblack 
are  huddled  together  in  a  scramble  for  the  first  squeeze  in 
the  wooden  hut,  six  feet  or  so  square,  where  your  ticket  or 
your  life  (almost)  is  the  consideration.  "They  manage  these 
things  better  in  France,"  and  so  they  do  in  Eng'and — what- 
ever tyrannies  and  despotism  there  may  be  behind  the  scenes. 
If  that  amiable,  gracious,  and  obliging  Cerberus  who  watches 
for  lapdogs  and  parcels  and  anxious  fathers  at  the  ladies' 
room  of  the  N.  Y.  &  New  Haven  would  come  and  take  a  look 
at  the  Charing  Cross  Station — or  rather,  if  his  masters,  the 
directors,  would  do  so — possibly  a  useful  hint  or  two  might 
be  gained,  which  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  might  be  of  ad- 
vantage to  our  long-suffering  people.  How  is  it  that  while 
our  River  and  Sound  steamers  eclipse  those  of  all  the  world, 
our  railway  system  is  so  imperfect — in  many  conspicuous 
places  so  utterly  mean  and  disgraceful? 

One  thing  is  objectionable  in  these  stations — at  least  for  a 
stranger — and  that  is  the  display  of  hundreds  of  large  adver- 
tisements and  posters — some  of  them  enormous — on  the  walls, 
utterly  confusing,  with  their  big  letters,  any  one  looking  for 
needful  information.     The  profit  of  these  to  the  company  must 


London  in  1869  373 

be  large,  to  justify  or  excuse  the  nuisance;  and  as  they  are  re- 
peated in  every  station,  large  and  small,  all  over  the  kingdom, 
the  expense  to  advertisers  must  be  enormous.  Thus  the 
newer  journals  and  magazines  post  bills  eight  feet  long  on  all 
the  dead  walls  in  London,  and  many  of  these  are  done  in  all 
sizes,  in  cast-iron  plates  with  enamelled  letters.  If  full- 
size  double  daily  papers  like  the  Standard,  News,  Star,  etc., 
can  be  sold  for  two  cents,  and  the  Echo  (larger  than  our  Evening 
Mail)  for  one  cent,  how  can  they  afford  to  pay  thousands  of 
pounds  a  year  for  street  advertisements?  and  how  is  it  that 
with  all  this  heavy  incubus  of  expense  of  publicity  the  supply 
of  reading  for  the  million  has  so  wonderfully  increased  in 
England  and  its  cheapness  in  proportion?  Thirty  years  ago, 
English  newspapers  cost  10  cents  to  15  cents  each — and  new 
books  were  a  luxury  for  the  select  few,  while  ours  cost  com- 
paratively nothing.  Now,  both  papers  and  books  may  be  had 
for  less  than  half  the  price  of  ours.  Probably  Mr.  Carey  can 
explain.  This  turning  of  the  tables  is  easily  accounted  for 
to  a  certain  extent — but  the  complete  revolution  and  reversal 
of  proportions  seems  at  first  to  be  mysterious. 

Even  the  gilt-edged  "Guide"  which  they  give  you  at  the 
Langham  suggests  the  expediency  of  your  hearing  Mr. 
Spurgeon  and  of  going  early  and  that  the  cab-fare  is  2S. ;  but 
it  does  not  hint  that  you  can  go  on  the  top  of  an  omnibus  for 
4d.,  and  that  the  ride  may  be  more  instructive.  My  first 
observation  in  the  course  of  this  lofty  survey  was  the  apparent 
change  in  Sabbath  observance  in  London.  Not  only  the 
gin-palaces,  but  a  great  many  shops  of  all  kinds  were  in  active 
business — and  in  one  street  on  the  Surrey  side  some  thousands 
of  rough-looking  people  were  holding  high  change — apparently 
a  Jewish  holi-,  not  holy,  day.  Near  the  famed  Elephant  and 
Castle,  my  omnibus-neighbour,  learning  my  destination,  said 
he  was  one  of  that  congregation,  and  invited  me  (as  a  stranger) 
to  his  seat — otherwise  the  chance  would  have  been  "limited." 
For  a  rarity,  as  I  was  told,  Mr.  Spurgeon  had  exchanged  with 
a  brother-minister  from  the  other  side  of  the  river,  who  began 
by  sympathising  with  the  disappointment  of  the  thousands 
before  him.     In  reality,  I  liked  the  substitute  better  than  I 


374  George  Palmer  Putnam 

expected  to  like  the  more  renowned  preacher.  But  neither 
could  be  half  so  impressive  as  the  immense  audience  itself — 
said  to  be  over  8000,  of  which  5000  are  in  rented  seats,  placed 
in  three  galleries  and  on  the  floor  of  the  gigantic  Tabernacle 
so  adroitly  that  every  one  could  see  and  hear:  and  when  the 
multitude  rose  as  one  man,  and  followed  the  precentor  at  the 
side  of  the  preacher's  table  in  singing  a  familiar  psalm,  the 
effect  was  far  more  touching  and  solemn  than  any  preaching 
could  possibly  be. 

In  the  evening  I  returned  and  heard  Spurgeon  himself: 
the  crowd  was  greater,  every  seat  filled  and  every  aisle  thronged 
— and  the  preacher's  power  over  the  vast  assembly  was  indeed 
a  marvel.  I  can't  quite  forget  my  prejudice  against  his 
heavy  face;  but  his  wonderful  executive  ability  and  his  im- 
mense influence  for  good  over  so  many  thousands  of  regular 
hearers,  and  tens  of  thousands  of  casual  ones,  can  hardly  be 
overestimated.  Boxes  for  coins  for  the  "Pastors'  College" 
in  Regent's  Park,  placed  everywhere  in  sight,  were  labelled 
to  the  effect  that  last  week's  contribution  was  some  £35. 

Next  Sunday  morning,  the  service  at  Westminster  Abbey 
was  impressive,  and  notable  for  other  things.  This  glorious 
old  edifice  has  not  only  had  care  and  renovation  in  its  outward 
aspects,  but  also  in  its  practical  uses.  The  ding-dong  of  its 
ancient  dozing  vergers,  who  lay  in  wait  for  strangers'  sixpences, 
seems  to  have  been  lulled;  and  on  Saturday  I  was  actually 
permitted  to  walk  about  where  I  pleased,  everywhere  but  in 
Henry  VII. 's  Chapel,  without  any  hint  of  guides  or  pennies. 
On  Sunday,  too,  instead  of  the  monotonous  homily  of  a 
drowsy  pluralist,  to  a  handful  of  people  in  the  choir,  a  large 
part  of  the  whole  edifice  is  filled  with  an  interested  audience 
in  comfortable  seats  (graded,  of  course,  for  the  gentle  and 
simple),  the  music  and  chanting  arc  of  the  best,  and  a  man  of 
real  ability  preaches  a  practical  and  excellent  sermon,  which 
gentle  and  simple  may  profit  by  alike.  At  least  this  was  what 
I  saw  and  heard.  The  preacher  seemed  to  be  of  a  different 
mould  from  the  canons  of  olden  time.  Has  the  Church  come 
down  to  the  people?  From  the  text,  "Where  shall  we  buy 
bread  that  these  may  eat?"  he  not  only  expounded  spiritual 


London  in  1869  375 

food  for  the  hearers  on  both  sides  of  the  railing  which  separ- 
ated the  chairs  from  the  benches,  but  he  discussed,  for  the 
plainer  people,  the  simple  but  often  urgent  wants  and  anxieties 
for  the  wherewithal  to  live — the  daily  problem,  "how  to  make 
both  ends  meet,"  which  many,  even  of  those  not  classed  as 
"poor,"  find  it  often  difficult  to  solve.  The  excellent  sense 
and  earnest  feeling  of  the  sermon  surprised  as  well  as  instructed 
a  listener  who  had  come  to  the  Abbey  from  the  last  generation. 
The  rich  tones  of  the  organ,  and  some  good  voices  echoing 
through  those  long-drawn  aisles  and  lofty  arches,  were  as 
impressive,  in  their  way,  as  the  8000  human  voices  singing 
in  unison  at  the  Tabernacle,  without  even  a  bass-viol  or 
melodeon  to  guide  them.  Why  may  not  both  modes  of  wor- 
ship be  acceptable,  if  fervently  and  honestly  rendered,  to  Him 
who  regardeth  the  spirit  and  not  the  letter  of  such  service? 

The  huge  St.  Paul's  also  is  now  turned  to  other  uses  besides 
a  Pantheon  for  big  monuments.  In  the  evening,  I  attended 
service  there,  when  some  5000  people  were  comfortably  seated 
under  the  great  dome  and  in  the  nave  as  well  as  the  choir,  to 
listen  to  the  choral  service  and  fine  anthems,  and  to  hear  a 
really  able  and  interesting  discourse  by  the  Bishop  of  Derry. 
I  don't  know  who  he  may  be,  but  he  is  not  one  of  the  drones. 
These  services  are  held  every  Sunday  evening,  and  are  always 
crowded,— for  they  make  a  point,  I  am  told,  of  having  the 
ablest  and  most  effective  preachers  from  all  quarters  of  the 
Establishment.  The  English  Church  is  evidently  waking 
up  to  the  expediency  of  doing  something  besides  enjoying  its 
immense  revenues  and  fat  sinecures.  The  Taits,  Trenches, 
and  Stanleys  appreciate  the  situation 

In  a  week-day  visit  to  the  two  cathedrals,  I  noted  some  of 
the  new  monuments  which  mark  the  eminences  who  have 
passed  away  since  I  saw  England.  In  St.  Paul's  they  have 
put  up  the  usual  style  of  marble  to  several  military  notabilities. 
In  Westminster,  a  full-length  Peel,  and  a  ditto  Palmerston; 
and  in  a  modest  niche  of  Poets'  Corner  is  a  simple  bust  of 
Thackeray,  looking  toward  the  wits  and  poets  whom  he  had 
revivified,  as  though  he  were  not  quite  sure  whether  he  was 
there    merely    on    sufferance.     "Tom    Campbell,"    Hallam, 


376  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Wordsworth,  and  Macaulay  are  more  conspicuously  honoured, 
for  as  the  man  in  Sheridan's  play  says,  "I  'm  told  there  's 
snug  lying  in  the  Abbey,"  and  even  men  of  genius  dream  of 
that  apotheosis.  The  whole  building  is  evidently  cared  for 
and  renovated  with  suitable  reverence — and  St.  Paul's,  too,, 
is  in  the  hands  of  skilful  restorers,  who  are  gradually  complet- 
ing the  ornamentation  so  long  left  unfinished.  Appeals  for 
pennies  to  aid  this  renovation  are  posted,  and  it  is  pleasant 
to  know  that  these  grand  memorials  of  bygone  ages  are  not 
to  be  permitted  to  fall  into  ruin. 

Street  monuments  to  England's  great  men  continue  ta 
prevail,  but  do  not  improve  much  in  grace.  Havelock  and 
C.  J.  Napier  stand  on  each  side  of  Nelson's  big  lions  in  Tra- 
falgar Square,  with  the  ambling  steed  of  Charles  I.,  and  the 
pigtail  of  George  III.  in  near  proximity.  England's  earlier 
chivalry  is  embodied  in  an  equestrian  Richard  Cceur  de 
Lion,  near  the  House  of  Lords.  In  Waterloo  Place,  one  of 
the  finest  sites  of  the  metropolis  is  filled  with  a  very  heavy 
if  not  ugly  group  of  iron  grenadiers  placed  against  a  granite 
pile  on  which  is  inscribed  "Crimea."  The  only  symmetrical 
and  satisfactory  recent  attempt  at  the  monumental  is  the 
Gothic  structure  in  Hyde  Park,  on  the  site  of  the  Palace  of 
'51,  to  the  honour  of  Prince  Albert. 

The  gorgeous  Gothic  pile  built  by  Barry  for  the  Houses  of 
Parliament  has  been  completed  since  my  residence  in  London. 
With  a  card  for  the  "Speaker's  Gallery"  from  our  very  polite 
Secretary  of  Legation,  Mr  Moran,  I  had  good  opportunity  to 
observe  the  manner  of  the  present  Ministry — especially  Mr. 
Gladstone,  who  spoke  twice,  briefly,  but  with  peculiar  clear- 
headed tact,  courtesy,  and  dignity,  which  showed  the  secret 
of  his  influence  and  power.  It  was  the  night  after  the  first 
great  debate  on  the  Irish  Church  Bill.  Everybody  knows 
what  the  House  of  Commons  is — the  only  remark  I  need  make 
is  to  wonder  why  the  architect  of  this  enormous  building, 
whose  halls  and  corridors  and  towers  are  on  a  superb  scale  in 
size  and  elegance,  could  not  have  provided  a  little  more  room 
for  the  most  important  object  of  the  building,  viz.,  the  sessions 
of  the  House?     Why  should  the  650  members  be  forced  to  sit 


London  in  1869  377 

like  so  many  schoolboys  crowded  on  "forms,"  or  forced  in  a 
full  house  to  take  refuge  in  the  galleries? — (for  there  are  not 
seats  for  all  the  members  on  the  floor).  Why  should  the 
spectators'  galleries  be  limited  to  ioo  seats?  and  why  should 
the  ladies  be  limited  to  a  score  or  so,  caged  behind  a  glass 
screen,  to  peep  like  Tom  of  Coventry  at  a  dumb  show,  without 
hearing  a  word  of  what  is  said?  Probably  all  this  has  been 
asked  and  answered  scores  of  times,  but  each  newcomer,  who 
has  seen  the  ample  scope  of  our  Capitol,  will  be  sure  to  wonder 
over  again  at  these  and  other  of  our  Uncle's  little  anomalies. 
The  one  name  in  England  which  perhaps  excites  most  in- 
terest in  an  American — after  Dickens  and  Tennyson — is  that 
of  John  Bright.  As  I  had  been  privileged  with  two  or  three 
notes  from  him  during  the  war,  in  reference  to  his  portrait, 
and  to  certain  "rebellion"  documents,  I  ventured  to  send  him 
a  card,  though  half  ashamed  of  the  intrusion  on  a  Cabinet 
Minister  as  busy  as  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  must 
necessarily  be.  A  pleasant,  familiar  note  from  him  within  a 
few  hours  asked  me  to  call  between  the  hours  of  10  and  n 
next  day — which  I  did  not  fail  to  do.  His  lodgings  in  Clarges 
Street  were  so  much  like  the  modest  apartments  I  had  once 
occupied  near  by,  that  I  imagined  I  had  blundered  in  the 
number.  No, — Mr.  Bright  was  in,  and  I  was  shown  to  a 
plain  room  on  the  second  floor.  "  Is  there  a  room  below  where 
one  can  wait  if  he  calls?"  Mr.  Bright  asked  of  the  damsel 
after  he  had  cordially  greeted  and  seated  me.  "  No,  sir,"  says 
the  servant,  "it  is  occupied."  A  word  or  two  of  apology  for 
intruding  on  his  valuable  time — which  I  feared  my  country- 
men were  too  apt  to  do — was  kindly  and  simply  cut  short, 
and  for  half  an  hour  he  made  me  entirely  "  at  home  "  in  a  rapid 
talk  about  certain  points  on  which,  as  it  happened,  I  was  able 
to  give  him  some  information.  The  servant  meanwhile  an- 
nounced "Mr.  Livingstone."  Again  the  question  about  the 
room  below.  "No,  sir,  he  is  still  there."  "No  matter,"  said 
Mr.  B.,  turning  to  me,  "  you  won't  mind  his  coming  up  here — 
he  is  a  brother  of  Dr.  Livingstone,  the  traveller.  We  have 
no  secrets  to  talk  about."  Of  course  I  could  but  again  apo- 
logise and  propose  to  take  leave — but  he  kept  me  some  twenty 


3?8  George  Palmer  Putnam 

minutes  longer,  Mr.  Livingstone,  meanwhile,  meekly  waiting 
for  his  turn — and  when  I  left  him  I  was  again  invited  with 
some  emphasis  to  call  on  my  return  from  Paris.  All  this  is  a 
trifle,  but  it  is  mentioned  simply  to  illustrate  the  unassuming, 
simple,  hearty  good  nature  of  this  noble  man,  so  different  in 
his  manners  and  his  surroundings  from  our  tradition  of  an 
English  Cabinet  Minister.  Portraits  do  not  do  him  justice. 
His  face  is  a  model  of  the  best  English  type — rosy  health 
without  grossness  intelligence,  good  sense,  and  bonhomie 
happily  united.  If  I  might  quote  some  of  his  sayings,  they 
would  show  that  he  has  some  pickle  and  spice  in  his  composi- 
tion, also,  and  that  he  is  a  shrewd  and  independent  thinker. 

The  next  call  I  had  to  make  was  on  the  author  of  Foul  Play 
and  Never  Too  Late  to  Mend.  His  domicile  and  its  peculiari- 
ties were  not  less  interesting  for  being  those  of  a  man  of  genius 
who  had  such  marvellous  facility  in  dramatic  stories ;  but  one 
is  scarcely  justified  in  relating  private  conversation,  even  of 
a  famous  author,  or  in  describing  his  dressing-gown  and  pet 
cat.  Mr.  Charles  Reade  is  a  good  deal  cosmopolitan  as  well 
as  English  in  his  notions,  and  his  shrewd  independence  and 
self-reliance  seem  to  belong  to  what  is  usually  termed  "a  man 
of  the  world." 

A  short  visit  to  Miss  Thackeray,  the  charming  daughter  of 
the  great  novelist,  and  herself  a  br  ght  and  sensible  story 
teller,  was  an  agreeable  episode  in  the  day's  doings.  Her 
grace  of  manner — wholly  free  from  pedantry  or  pretence,  as 
simple  as  a  chiid  and  as  polished  as  a  duchess — is  quite  win- 
ning. To  express  satisfaction  in  knowing  any  one  who  "had 
known  her  father"  was  very  easy,  but  the  evident  sincerity 
of  the  cordial  greeting  was  not  to  be  doubted. 

The  author  of  The  Woman  in  White  has  everything  handsome 
about  him,  and  is  evidently  a  gentleman,  and  a  very  agreeable 
man. 

My  old  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howitt, 
and  others  with  whom  we  used  to  exchange  visits  in  olden 
time,  are  still  flourishing  in  hale  and  healthy  maturity,  I  was 
told,  but  there  was  no  time  to  seek  them. 

The  elders  of  the  houses  of  Murray,  Longman,  and  Whit- 


London   in  1869  379 

taker,  who  had  hospitably  received  me  in  1836,  have  passed 
away,  but  the  business  of  the  first  two  is  vigorously  pursued 
by  the  present  generation.  The  new  and  elegant  premises 
of  the  Longmans,  and  the  newer  and  handsome  palace  of  the 
rising  Nelsons  are  both  lost  in  the  narrow  lane,  where  book- 
sellers most  do  congregate — Paternoster  Row.  Many  of 
the  wealthy,  older  publishers  whose  names  are  familiar  in  our 
mouths,  are  conservatively  pursuing  their  vocation  exactly  as 
they  were  thirty  years  ago.  Baldwin,  Moxon,  Tilt,  the  elder 
Bohn,  Pickering,  and  others,  have  passed  off  the  stage.  Henry 
Bohn,  "the  Napoleon  of  remainders,"  partially  retired,  after 
printing  500  Library  volumes  and  editing  many  of  them  him- 
self, now  amuses  himself  with  knick-knacks  like  old  china, 
for  which  hobby  they  say  he  has  expended  £50,000  of  his  well- 
earned  fortune.  The  name  of  Bentley,  who  is  now  quite 
advanced  and  in  poor  health,  is  kept  in  title-pages  by  his  son, 
and  so  is  Pickering's,  in  a  moderate  way. 

But  the  newer  men  who  have  risen  up  to  fame  and  fortune 
in  this  responsible  vocation  are  rapidly  eclipsing  the  old  fogies 
in  the  magnitude  and  activity  if  not  respectability  of  their 
operations.  Of  these,  Routledge,  Warne,  Strahan,  Mac- 
millan,  and  Low  &  Marston,  are  the  most  notable — the 
progress  of  some  of  these  having  been  more  on  our  American 
plan  than  in  the  ordinary  English  habit.  In  my  younger 
days  in  London,  Routledge  had  a  little  box  near  Leicester 
Square  whence  he  would  sally  forth  himself  with  samples  of 
"trade-sale  job-lots"  under  his  arm  and  sell  "  13-12  at  is." — 
or  make  a  "dicker  "  for  Yankee  books  if  he  could  n't  do  better. 

Now  his  warehouses  are  "big  things,"  and  his  list  of  publica- 
tions numbers  many  hundreds.  His  first  noted  contract  was 
with  Bulwer— to  give  him  £2000  a  year  for  ten  years  for  the 
use  of  his  works,  printing  them  in  tens  of  thousands  "  for  the 
million,"  at  a  nominal  price.  The  cheapness  of  his  publica- 
tions, and  others  of  their  class  in  England,  has  distanced 
American  competition  marvellously.  Warne,  Nelson,  Strahan, 
Low,  and  others  do  an  immense  business  in  the  same  depart- 
ment. Books  for  five,  three,  two  shillings,  and  one  shilling, 
and  even  for  sixpence — (a  very  decent  copy  of  Cooper's  novels, 


380  George  Palmer  Putnam 

for  example) — were  published  originally  at  a  guinea  or  a  guinea 
and  a  half.  Apparently  they  find  their  account  in  this  sys- 
tem, for  it  is  common  to  hear  of  editions  of  tens  of  thousands ; 
and  Hotten  told  me  that  of  one  of  Artemus  Ward's  books  he 
had  sold  a  quarter  of  a  million !  We  boast  of  the  universality 
of  our  book-reading,  but  where  does  the  English  reading  public 
come  from?  Look  at  their  periodical  literature!  To  say 
nothing  of  their  merely  "popular"  serials  like  Good  Words, 
All  the  Year  Round,  and  Once  a  Week,  ranging  from  50,000 
to  130,000,  the  number  of  shilling  magazines  is  startling  to 
think  of — three  times  as  many  in  proportion  as  we  have,  and 
most  people  would  say  ours  are  too  many.  Then  the  penny 
issues,  such  as  British  Workman,  etc.,  are  marvellous  for  the 
excellence  of  their  illustrations  as  well  as  their  literature.  In 
all  this  matter  of  instruction  and  entertainment  for  the  million, 
our  English  contemporaries  are  leaving  us  very  far  astern — 
almost  out  of  sight. 

Here,  again,  one  of  "the  trade"  of  thirty  years  ago  is 
startled  with  the  differences.  Then  the  cheapness  of  American 
books  was  proverbial,  and  English  editions  were  luxuries 
which  few  could  afford.  The  stately  quartos  and  octavos, 
priced  in  guineas  instead  of  pence,  are  still  issued  when  im- 
portant new  books  are  to  be  launched  for  the  first  time ;  but, 
the  nabobs  and  the  libraries  once  supplied,  the  "people"  are 
then  cared  for  with  compact  duodecimos  at  prices  to  suit. 

The  good  old  aristocratic  days  of  the  elder  Murray  and  his 
kin  are  passing  away.  How  he  used  to  entertain  the  American 
bibliopoles,  the  rarity  of  whose  advent,  thirty  years  ago,  ren- 
dered them  objects  of  curiosity!  James  Brown  and  Daniel 
Appleton  and  one  or  two  others  comprised  the  whole  American 
delegation  for  many  years.  The  two  named  are  gone;  but 
others  are  now  familiar  with  the  Albemarle  Street  mahogany 
on  which  the  portraits  of  Scott  and  Byron  and  Southey  and 
Crabbe  and  Irving  and  the  Arctic  navigators  looked  down 
approvingly.  How  the  old  gentleman  used  to  produce  his 
Childe  Harold  and  other  choice  MSS.,  with  half-earnest  ap- 
prehension lest  these  wild  Americans  should  slip  them  into 
their  pockets!     (The  present  Mr.  John  Murray,  who  makes 


London  in  1869  381 

the  red-books  for  travellers,  sometimes  styled  the  British 
tourist's  Bible,  is  now  absent  on  his  first  visit  to  Italy;  oddly 
enough,  although  all  these  guide-books  were  supposed  to  be 
actually  prepared  by  him,  and  those  on  Germany  really  were 
so,  he  has  never  till  now  even  seen  Rome  or  Florence.)  How 
the  long  firm  of  Longmans  used  to  give  us  a  hospitable  chair 
at  their  long  table  in  the  Row,  where  the  excellent  Brown's 
bachelor-hall  in  the  warehouse  used  to  provide  a  hot  joint 
for  their  authors  and  business  friends !  How  the  Napoleonic 
Bohn  used  to  give  us  holiday  dinners  at  the  "Star  &  Garter" 
of  Richmond  Hill,  and  ex-Sheriff  Whittaker  used  to  tell  us 
how  many  men  he  had  hanged  when  "the  City"  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  his  services !  How  democratic  Talboys,  under  the 
very  shadow  of  the  ancient  university  on  the  Isis,  used  to 
surprise  us  with  his  admiration  for  American  institutions,  even 
more  strange  to  us  than  the  superultra  loyalty  of  the  official 
publisher,  Mr.  Parker,  who  taught  us  that  "the  Crown  must 
be  respected  if  it  only  hangs  on  a  bush ! "  But  such  gossip  of 
old  times  might  be  extended  ad  nauseam. 

Among  the  nooks  and  corners  which  an  American  in  Eng- 
land, thirty  years  ago,  was  apt  to  "mouse  out"  were  the  old 
Dr.  Johnson  tavern  in  Bolt  Court,  where  we  used  to  pay  for 
a  pint  of  ale  for  the  sake  of  a  peep  at  the  Lumber  Troop  Hall, 
once  the  library  of  the  growling  old  lexicographer;  then  the 
rather  doubtful  respectability  of  the"  Judge  and  Jury  Society," 
in  Co  vent  Garden,  where  mock  "appeals  from  the  Lord 
Chancellor's  Court  below,  at  Westminster,"  were  gravely 
argued  by  big- wigs  at  the  bar  before  a  bigger  wig  "on  the 
bench"— the  price  of  a  "pot  of  'alf  and  'alf  "  being  the  admis- 
sion fee.  But  I  did  not  fail  to  revisit  and  take  my  "chop  and 
Cheshire"  at  the  little  smoky  room  of  Dolly's  chop-house  in 
Paternoster  Row,  which  for  three  hundred  years  last  past  has 
dispensed  those  comforts  to  bibliopoles  and  others  who  have 
haunted  the  place  since  the  time  of  Spenser  and  Shakespeare 
and  Ben  Jonson. 

While  the  old  "haunts"  and  curiosities  remain,  the  renova- 
tions and  improvements  going  on  in  London  are  wonderful  in 
their  extent  and  costly  excellence.     The  Thames  Embank- 


382  George  Palmer  Putnam 

ment,  and  new  bridges,  to  say  nothing  of  the  enormous  railway 
system,  the  viaduct  at  Holborn  Valley,  and  the  complete 
transformation  of  Smithfield  and  its  old  cattle  market  of  John 
Rogers's  memory ;  the  new  buildings  in  the  city,  the  immense 
demolition  of  rookeries  between  the  Strand  and  Holborn  for 
the  new  law  courts ;  the  new  hotels ;  the  amazing  growth  of  the 
suburbs;  the  new  horticultural  gardens  and  museums;  the 
wonderful  Museum  in  progress  at  Kensington  and  the  com- 
pletion of  that  at  Bloomsbury,  are  among  the  signs  that 
London  not  only  "still  lives,"  but  that  this  "huge,  overgrown 
metropolis,"  as  it  was  called  when  half  its  present  size,  is  ad- 
vancing in  apparent  prosperity  quite  as  fast  as  any  of  our 
growing  Western  cities.  It  is  true  that  in  the  matter  of  dwel- 
ling-houses in  the  suburbs  the  speculative  builders  seem  to 
have  "overdone  it"  for  the  time — for  Overend  &  Gurney's 
failure,  and  other  things  of  that  sort,  were  a  terrible  shock  to 
English  credit,  and  sadly  contracted  the  incomes  of  multitudes 
of  the  middle  classes.  Here  again  I  found  a  difference  from 
the  tone  of  olden  time — in  the  days  when  every  American  in 
England  was  pharisaically  lectured  about  the  shortcomings 
of  his  countrymen,  culminating  in  the  national  crime  of  repu- 
diation, and  we  were  kindly  told  to  observe  that  "an  English- 
man's word  is  his  bond  the  world  over."  Truly,  we  deserved 
the  lecture  somewhat ;  and  Englishmen  had  a  right  to  a  good 
deal  of  self-complacency.  They  have  still;  for,  as  a  nation, 
their  phariseeism  is  based  on  a  sturdy,  downright  foundation 
of  honest  candour  and  integrity.  And  yet  there  are  exceptions 
— strange  to  say.  Such  cases  as  that  of  Overend  &  Gurney, 
where  thousands  were  ruined  by  unsuspicious  confidence 
which  proved  for  a  series  of  years  to  have  been  betrayed,  have 
not  been  so  very  rare;  and  one  finds  a  difference  in  the  whole 
tone  in  which  business  operations  are  referred  to.  To  speak 
of  a  contemporary  in  trade  as  "slippery,"  or  something  worse, 
is  a  frequent  habit,  and  it  was  not  at  all  pleasant  to  notice  so 
much  jealousy  and  disparagement  of  each  other,  even  among 
the  prosperous  portion  of  our  own  fraternity. 

The  earnest,  hearty  hospitality  and  genuine  kindness  which 
I   met  among  English  acquaintances  of  former  years  were 


London  in  1869  3«3 

enough  to  revive  the  heartiest  liking  for  Old  England  and  to 
make  one  feel  at  home  there  with  enduring  friends.     Once 
established  in  the  good-will  of  such  people  and  they  grapple 
you  to  their  hearts  with  hooks  of  steel.     Their  practical 
friendliness  was  so  pleasant  to  think  of,  that  I  could  not  but 
wonder  the  more  when  a  passing  allusion  to  our  recent  national 
struggle  betrayed  the  fact  that  the  bitterest  of  the  "unre- 
constructed"— the  haughtiest  of  the  unrepentant  "secesh" — 
are  not  more  thoroughly  tainted  with  the  poison  of  Southern 
doctrine  than  some  of  our  kindest  and  most  warm-hearted 
and  intelligent  personal  friends  in  England.     Not   all   the 
stubborn  events  of  the  war  itself  and  its  great  results,  not  all 
the  magnanimous  treatment  of  the  leaders  of  the  great  con- 
spiracy, has  apparently  changed  or  softened  in  the  least  the 
prejudices  of  many  even  moderate,  well-bred,  liberal-minded 
English  men  and  women  which  were  nursed  and  fed  in  the  out 
set  by  the  lies  of  the  London  Times.     Even  now,  some  of  the 
most  excellent  people,  who  would  do  all  sorts  of  hospitable 
things  for  you  personally,  will  hold  up  their  hands  and  roll 
their  eyes  in  horror  at  "the  abominable  treatment  of  Mr. 
Davis,"  and  of  "that  excellent,  noble-hearted  man,  General 
Lee."     Of  course  this  view  of  things  is  not  universal — but 
what  there  is  yet,  even  among  the  "middle  classes,"  would 
surprise   a   simple-minded   Northern  Republican.     The  way 
the  sturdy,  downright  John  Bright  spoke  of  a  certain  famous 
"  admiral"  who  had  eclipsed  Captain  Kidd,  was  not  much  like 
the  tone  of  Mr.  Davis's  admirers.     But  it  will  take  some  time 
yet  for  the  simple  truth  of  our  great  struggle  to  be  appreciated 
in  the  various  circles  of  English  life. 

After  all,  however,  the  American  name  in  England  is  treated 
with  more  consideration  than  in  the  time  when  Lynch  Law, 
Repudiation,  Slavery,  and  the  Oregon  and  the  North-eastern 
Boundary  Questions  used  to  be  poked  at  American  visitors 
and  residents  in  a  patronisingly  offensive  style.  Some  curious 
illustrations  of  the  spirit  of  thirty  years  since,  which  it  was 
my  fortune  to  encounter,  might  be  quoted — but  it  is  scarcely 
worth  while.  Mr.  George  Peabody,  now  the  great  dispenser 
of  millions  for  the  London  poor,  was  then  a  modest  merchant, 


3^4  George  Palmer  Putnam 

keeping  bachelor-hall  with  a  friend  in  a  small  £8o-house  in 
Devonshire  Street, — where  the  chums  occasionally  dined  some 
of  the  American  residents  or  visitors,  and  he  now  and  then 
joined  a  similar  little  gathering  at  Knickerbocker  Cottage, 
where  it  was  my  fortune  to  entertain,  in  a  small  way,  three 
successive  envoys, — Mr.  Everett,  Mr.  McLane,  and  Mr. 
Bancroft, — besides  our  Spanish  Minister,  Mr.  Irving;  the 
little  American  circle  being  mixed  sometimes  with  some  of 
our  English  literary  friends.  It  was  delicious  to  take  another 
look  at  the  semi-detached  snuggeries  and  gardens  in  St.  John's 
Wood  and  north  of  Regent's  Park,  and  to  remember  the  good 
old  times  when  we  enjoyed  the  luxuries  of  the  "Zoological 
and  Botanical"  and  the  immediate  proximity  to  Primrose 
Hill  and  Hampstead  Heath  and  the  magnificent  slopes  of  the 
Park  itself.  No  street  walk  in  the  world,  perhaps,  is  more 
agreeable  than  that  from  Primrose  Hill  along  the  terraces  of 
Regent's  Park  and  gardens,  and  down  Portland  Place  and 
Regent  Street  to  Waterloo  Place — the  central  point  of  London 
grandeur. 

But  one  of  the  crowning  glories  of  London  of  recent  growth 
is  that  superb  collection  of  rare  things  in  the  yet  unfinished 
museum  at  South  Kensington.  The  old  British  Museum  in 
Bloomsbury,  now  wholly  reconstructed  on  the  site  of  the  old 
brick  pile  of  the  17th  century,  is  a  world  of  itself,  an  amazing 
collection  of  illustrations  of  the  wonders  of  nature,  ancient 
art,  and  the  literature  of  all  nations.  But  the  newly  built 
galleries  at  South  Kensington  already  contain  relics  and 
models  of  ancient  and  mediaeval  art  which  are  eclipsing  those 
of  the  Louvre — while  the  collections  of  paintings  of  the 
English  school,  including  those  made  by  Sheepshanks,  Vernon, 
Bell,  and  others,  are  the  most  delicious  things  in  modern  art 
to  be  seen  in  Europe.  Of  course,  thousands  of  American  visit- 
ors in  Europe  for  the  last  twenty  years  are  aware  of  all  this, 
but  how  many  of  them  appreciate  fully  the  immense  wealth 
of  art  in  this  building?  How  many  of  those  who  have  ample 
means  in  lucre  to  make  their  names  immortal,  are  disposed  to 
do  so  by  even  laying  the  foundation  of  such  an  institution  in 
New  York, — so  thoroughly  constructed,  so  perfectly  warmed 


Paris  in  1869  385 

and  ventilated,  so  fully  furnished  with  every  luxurious  con- 
venience for  the  people — rich  and  poor,  learned  and  ignorant — 
to  study  art  in  its  purest  and  highest  forms,  to  cultivate  their 
taste  and  their  intellect,  to  enjoy  at  all  times  and  in  the  most 
liberal  manner  the  advantage  of  communion  with  genius  of 
all  ages  and  nations,  and  to  drink  in  the  richest  inspirations  of 
art  with  as  much  freedom  as  the  air  itself? 

PARIS 

On  my  first  visit  to  France,  in  1836,  I  was  a  whole  week  on 
the  way  from  London  to  Paris,  including  four  days  at  Boulogne 
waiting  for  a  chance  seat  in  the  diligence.  Returning,  four 
days  at  Havre  waiting  for  a  steamer,  and  then  a  twenty-four 
hours'  passage  in  a  gale  to  Southampton,  left  impressions  of 
the  trip  between  the  two  cities  which  dozens  of  subsequent 
visits  only  partially  modified.  When  one  now  takes  his  cush- 
ioned seat  at  Cannon  Street,  at  1  p.m.,  after  a  good  lunch  in 
the  station,  and  at  twelve  the  same  evening  finds  himself 
comfortably  in  bed  on  the  Boulevards  with  his  douaned  port- 
manteau in  the  corner,  without  the  least  shade  of  fatigue  or 
discomfort  (except  somewhat  in  that  cramped  Folkestone 
steamer,  which  is  no  bigger  and  no  better  than  thirty  years 
since) ,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  in  some  particulars  the  world 
has  advanced  since  the  days  of  our  youth. 

But  when  you  sally  forth  into  the  glazed  courtyard  of  the 
Grand  Hotel  and  thence  into  the  Boulevard  and  take  a  glance 
at  "  N.  &  E.'s"  gigantic  new  Opera  House  and  the  superb  new 
streets  diverging  therefrom ;  when  you  follow  these  from  block 
to  block  until  you  discover  in  every  direction  miles  and  miles 
of  broad,  palace-lined,  asphaltum-paved  streets,  newly  built 
where  narrow  lanes  and  uncouth  rookeries  only  existed  at 
the  time  of  your  last  visit ;  when  you  find  these  superb  avenues, 
which  have  risen  like  an  exhalation,  stretching  along  not  in 
one  or  two  central  localities  merely,  but  in  every  quarter  of 
the  great  capital,  built  on  a  uniform  scale  of  substantial  eleg- 
ance which  shows  at  a  glance  that  some  central  power — 
despotic  or  other — has  devised  and  directed  the  whole  opera- 


386  George  Palmer  Putnam 

tion;  when  you  look  in  vain  for  the  old  lanterns  suspended 
across  from  house  to  house,  and  the  dirty  gutters  splashing  you 
from  the  centre  of  ill-paved,  sidewalkless  streets,  such  as  there 
were  in  the  good  old  days  of  Louis  Philippe — but  find  instead 
smoothly-paved  streets  with  well-made  trottoirs,  and  perfect 
neatness  and  cleanliness  wherever  you  go,  even  in  the  old 
Latin  quarter ;  when  you  study  without  and  within  the  wonder- 
ful pile  of  palaces  restored  and  completed  where  the  Louvre 
and  the  Tuileries  were  sundered  by  unsightly  nuisances; 
when  you  look  at  these  and  scores  of  similar  improvements 
on  a  large  scale,  is  it  strange  that  American  visitors  should 
join  others  in  admiring  the  energy  and  taste,  "imperial" 
though  it  be,  which  has  effected  such  a  magnificent  transforma- 
tion? It  is  true  that  the  people  are  now  called  upon  to  "pay 
the  piper"  (there  's  the  rub),  and  Hausmanised  Paris  is  on  the 
qui-vive  at  this  moment  for  the  verdict  of  the  Corps  Legislatif 
on  the  legality  and  the  justice  of  these  enormous  expenditures 
and  high-handed  seizures  of  individual  property.  But,  after 
all  the  grumbling,  Paris  likes  her  new  holiday  dress  too  well 
to  quarrel  with  the  Emperor  for  insisting  upon  her  wearing  it 
— and  paying  for  it  too ;  and  so  when  the  Ministers  the  other 
day  confessed  to  the  deputies  that  the  improvements  had 
been  illegally  made — but  they  "would  n't  do  so  any  more," 
the  deputies  voted  that  his  Imperial  Majesty  and  his  advisers 
should  be  excused  and  forgiven — just  this  once.  The  radicals 
growled,  but  the  bankers  and  merchants  applauded,  and  all 
again  ' '  goes  merry  as  a  marriage  bell . ' ' 

It  was  curious  to  note  the  different  shades  of  feeling  in  regard 
to  the  government  and  to  the  prospects  of  France.  Some  of 
the  shrewdest  and  most  active  of  the  "reds"  whom  I  had  a 
favourable  chance  to  know  are  so  bitter  in  their  hostility  to 
the  "upstart"  Emperor,  that  one  wonders  as  to  the  chances  of 
his  head.  But,  going  from  these  to  the  prosperous  men  of 
business,  one  may  imagine  universal  contentment  and  security 
for  the  dynasty  to  an  unlimited  extent.  As  to  the  Orleanists 
and  Legitimists,  if  they  still  exist  in  any  strength,  they  do 
not  appear  to  be  demonstrative. 

In  1851,  during  a  flying  visit  to  Paris,  one  of  the  members 


Paris  in  1869  387 

of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  Prince 
Louis  Napoleon — "the  adventurer"  who  had  come  over  from 
England  and  got  himself  elected  to  the  legislature,  but  who 
appeared  to  be  looked  upon  as  of  small  account.  Eleven 
years  before,  by  an  odd  chance  I  had,  with  an  American  friend, 
taken  the  very  rooms  in  St.  James  Street  which  this  same  ad- 
venturous prince  had  vacated  only  a  day  or  two  before,  when 
he  went  over  to  Boulogne,  with  thirty  men  and  a  tame  eagle, 
for  his  second  attempt  at  the  conquest  of  France.  The  freak 
was  not,  probably,  so  utterly  insane  as  it  then  appeared;  but 
if  a  prophet  had  then  recorded,  in  advance,  his  imperial  reign, 
in  apparent  strength  for  seventeen  years  (whatever  yet  may 
come) ,  and  all  the  immense  progress  of  France  and  the  astound- 
ing growth  and  magnificent  renovation  of  Paris,  which  is  even 
now  an  accomplished  fact,  how  many  would  have  believed  the 
prediction? 

The  moderate  republicans,  led  by  such  men  as  Laboulaye, 
Martin,  Cochin,  and  Jules  Simon,  make  occasional  demonstra- 
tions, in  the  shape  of  conferences,  or  public  lectures.  I  was 
fortunate  in  hearing  one  of  these,  of  notable  interest.  There 
was  an  assembly  of  3500  intelligent-looking  men  and  women, 
in  one  of  the  largest  theatres  of  Paris, — Prince  Imperial, — 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon — admission  three  francs — 
proceeds  for  some  charity.  Laboulaye  presided,  and  made  an 
introductory  address  of  half  an  hour,  and  then  came  an  oration 
of  more  than  two  hours  by  Auguste  Cochin,  the  handsome  and 
wealthy  member  of  the  Institute,  who  wrote  those  excellent 
books  on  slavery.  His  theme  was  the  life  and  character  of 
Abraham  Lincoln — and  the  address  was  a  very  interesting 
and  comprehensive  account  of  that  remarkable  man,  with  all 
the  lights  and  shades  of  his  early  and  later  life,  from  flatboat- 
man  to  President  and  Commander-in-Chief.  The  sly  parallels 
with  Imperialism  were,  apparently,  capital  hits,  for  the  in- 
terest seemed  to  be  intense,  and  the  applause  frequent  and 
earnest.  Probably  the  idea  was  a  compound  one — the  run- 
ning fire  on  the  Government  was  as  much  the  purpose  as  the 
eulogy  of  our  martyred  President.  The  tone,  however,  was 
moderate  and  dignified,  warming  occasionally  into  real  elo- 


388  George  Palmer  Putnam 

quence,  as  when  he  quoted  the  famous  Second  Inaugural — ■ 
"  With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all."  The  oration 
is  to  be  published,  probably,  for  it  was  most  interesting  and 
significant  under  the  circumstances. 

An  evening  with  M.  Laboulaye — at  one  of  his  "receptions" 
— was  another  pleasant  incident  to  remember.  The  republican 
leader  (as  he  may  be  called)  is  a  gentleman  of  winning  address, 
— calm,  dignified,  yet  kind  and  genial, — inspiringat  once  a  good 
deal  of  respectful  regard.  Among  his  visitors  were  members 
of  the  Corps  Legislatif ,  and  notable  men  from  various  parts  of 
Europe.  It  was  curious,  by  the  way,  to  observe  that  at  French 
"  receptions  "  of  this  sort,  the  sterner  sex  appear  to  do  the  talk- 
ing among  themselves,  leaving  the  ladies  to  their  own  resources. 
The  charming  Madame  Laboulaye  entertained  the  feminine 
visitors  in  the  same  room,  but  in  a  group  by  themselves. 

M.  Laboulaye's  Paris  in  America  has  so  many  clever  and 
shrewd  hits  at  our  most  creditable  national  traits  and  habits, 
that  one  can  scarcely  believe  the  author  knows  us  only  through 
books.  His  keen  appreciation  of  the  good  points  in  American 
theories  and  practice  shows  him  to  be  a  skilful  observer,  and  a 
judicious  and  able  friend  of  constitutional  liberty  and  progress. 

A  visit  to  the  great  warerooms  of  Hachette,  the  Harper  of 
France,  was  another  matter  of  quite  as  much  interest,  to  a 
publisher  at  least,  as  many  of  the  lions  in  the  programme. 
Besides  the  immense  piles — some  hundreds  of  tons — of  cheap, 
popular  books,  educational  and  other,  this  house  issues  those 
famous  folios  which  Dore  has  illustrated  with  that  magician's 
pencil  which  he  wields  with  such  marvellous  facility :  and  the 
"royals"  of  popular  science,  such  as  La  Terre,  by  Reclus,  and 
the  famous  serial  called  Antour  du  Monde — an  illustrated 
quarto  which  reproduces  and  illustrates  notable  travels  in  all 
parts  of  the  world.  They  are  now  preparing,  in  a  series  of 
sumptuous  folios,  an  edition  of  the  four  Gospels,  the  produc- 
tion of  which  will  cost  some  #200,000.  One  of  the  artists 
engaged  on  this  stays  two  years  in  Jerusalem,  simply  to  make 
the  sketches.  This  oeuvre  de  luxe  is  done  for  the  love  of  art 
and  of  fame  alone,  and  not  for  profit  in  lucre. 

"Would  you  like  to  visit  Gustave  Dore's  studio? "    Wouldn't 


Paris  in  1869  3«9 

I!  With  a  card  from  Hachette's,  we  were  not  long  in 
finding  it — even  without  a  number  or  name  to  indicate  it — 
for  probably  it  is  the  only  isolated  studio  in  Paris  built  for  the 
purpose — it  must  certainly  be  the  largest.  An  artist  who 
paints  pictures  30  feet  long  and  22  feet  high  must  have  a  studio 
of  his  own :  and  these  are  the  dimensions  of  the  last  great  work 
of  Dore,  which  we  saw  on  his  easel  (?),  nearly  or  quite  finished. 
The  subject  is  Christ  coming  down  from  the  Judgment  Hall 
of  Pilate — some  twenty  or  more  life-size  figures  fill  the  canvas. 
The  competition  for  such  a  work  must  be  somewhat  limited 
— for  what  galleries  less  extensive  than  the  Louvre  can  hold 
such  a  canvas?  In  the  spacious  studio,  at  this  moment,  there 
were  also  more  than  a  dozen  large  pictures,  all  recently  painted 
by  this  almost  miraculous  artist — (marvellous,  at  least,  so 
far  as  facility  and  amount  of  work  are  concerned) — including 
figure-pieces  from  Dante  and  from  A  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream,  Rossini  in  his  bed  after  death,  and  two  very  beautiful 
forest  scenes,  all  these  being  about  six  or  eight  feet  high.  One 
would  think  that  Dore  s  pencil  drawings  might  have  occupied 
any  one  man  for  a  lifetime,  but  to  see  these  enormous  and 
elaborate  works  in  oil  going  on  simultaneously,  causes  one's 
wonder  to  grow  in  proportion  to  their  square  feet.  But  for  the 
janitor's  assurance  that  no  one  but  the  master  himself  touched 
the  canvas,  we  might  guess  that  a  large  part  of  the  work  was 
done  by  pupils.  Dore  himself  is  a  surprise,  for  he  is,  ap- 
parently, still  on  the  sunny  side  of  thirty-five.  In  feature  he 
is  not  very  unlike  Thomas  Nast,  whose  pencil  comes  nearest 
on  our  side  to  that  of  the  French  prodigy.  M.  Dore  received 
us  with  that  quiet  and  unpretending  manner  which  marks  the 
modesty  of  true  merit :  and  though  we  avoided  using  minutes 
that  must  be  money — and  much  money — to  a  man  who  can  do 
such  things  as  he  does,  yet  he  kindly  explained  the  chief  points 
in  his  recent  works  in  a  simple  and  sensible  fashion,  and  gave  us 
the  impression . that  he  was  a  true  son  of  genius.  And  yet 
even  a  novice  may  guess  that  his  drawings  are  not  all  faultless. 
A  fortnight  in  Paris  and  another  in  London,  actively  em- 
ployed, gave  ample  material  for  rambling  notes  to  an  indefinite 
extent,  but  too  much  of  our  space  is  already  filled. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
Leaves  From  a  Publisher's  Letter-BooK 


IN  the  course  of  a  "somewhat  busy"  experience  of  thirty- 
three  years,  as  publisher  and  bookseller  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic,  it  has  been  my  fortune  to  know,  more  or  less 
intimately,  several  authors  and  artists  of  the  period,  whose 
names  have  become,  in  some  sort,  the  world's  heritage. 

Looking  over  the  earlier  letter-files  of  such  a  business, 
one  is  reminded  of  personal  interviews  and  incidents,  trivial 
enough,  perhaps,  but  often  characteristic  and  suggestive  as 
being  connected  with  men  who  have  left  their  mark  in  the 
reading  world,  and  "whose  works  do  follow  them."  Personal 
references  to  living  men  would  be  questionable,  if  not  improper. 
Of  others  who  have  passed  away,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  recall 
a  fact  or  two — for  life  is  made  up  of  little  things,  and  slight 
touches  may  aid  in  filling  up  an  outline  portrait.  In  some 
slight  "Recollections  of  Irving,"  a  few  years  ago,  a  few  other 
authors  were  briefly  mentioned.  Some  others  may  be  here 
referred  to  in  connection  with  a  scrap  or  two  from  their  cor- 
respondence. 

The  name  of  Fenimore  Cooper  in  American  authorship 
was  a  prominent  one  during  his  life.  It  is  not  yet  wholly 
eclipsed — but  whether  it  will  continue  to  fill  a  place  in  propor- 
tion to  the  bulk  of  his  writings  may  have  ceased,  perhaps,  to 
be  a  question.  He  was  as  conspicuous  in  person  as  in  intellect, 
standing  over  six  feet  in  height — strong,  erect,  well  propor- 

390 


A  Publisher  s  Letter  Booh  391 

tioned — with  the  air  and  manner  of  one  who  claimed  the  right 
to  be  listened  to,  and  to  have  his  dictum  respected.  A  man 
who  had  seen  so  much  of  the  world,  whose  opinions  were  so 
well  fortified  by  reading  and  observation,  and  who  had  done 
so  much  for  his  country's  fame  in  letters,  was  well  entitled  to 
respectful  attention — yet  it  was  not  always  pleasant  to  hear 
his  rather  tart  criticisms  of  notable  contemporaries.  One  of 
his  axioms  appeared  to  be,  that  the  very  possession  of  office 
or  of  popular  favour  in  this  country  was  prima-facie  evidence 
of  incompetency,  superficial  attainment,  or  positive  dishon- 
esty. (It  is  rather  sad  to  think,  that  if  he  had  lived  longer, 
this  estimate  of  popular  and  official  success  might  have  been 
strengthened  rather  than  diminished.)  He  loved  to  demon- 
strate this  by  examples — and  would  even  include  such  names 
as  Edward  Everett  and  others  whose  fame  and  position  were 
beyond  ordinary  question. 

His  views  on  personal  rights  were  very  decided,  and  often 
decidedly  expressed.  Coming  from  my  house  at  Staten  Island, 
he  took  occasion — having  been  brusquely  jostled  by  a  carman 
driving  on  to  the  ferry-boat — to  give  him  a  five-minute 
lecture  on  the  inherent  rights  of  foot-passengers  as  against  all 
vehicles  whatsoever.  The  dignity  and  force  of  the  argument 
evidently  impressed  both  the  carman  and  the  bystanders. 

Mr.  Cooper  was  a  good  story-teller.  At  my  house  he  gave 
a  sketch  of  a  scene  in  court  with  a  thick-headed  witness  which 
was  rich  in  graphic  humour,  and  was  often  afterwards  quoted 
by  our  neighbours  who  heard  it.  For  his  book  copyrights, 
he  was  fond  of  constructing  his  own  agreements,  with  all 
provisos  and  conditions.  Eleven  of  his  thirty-three  novels 
were  included  in  one  library  edition  as  those  best  worthy  of 
preservation ;  and  only  one  other  was  suggested  by  the  author 
as  being  thus  worthy  of  a  fine  edition.  The  only  original 
work  of  his  first  published  by  us  was  his  last,  The  Ways  of  the 
Hour,  intended  to  show  the  dangers  and  evils  of  our  Jury 
system.  Referring  to  the  London  edition  of  this,  he  wrote 
the  following.  (Mr.  Bentley,  "Her  Majesty's  publisher," 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  accepting  his  drafts  for  £300  on  the 
receipt  of  the  MS.  of  each  of  his  novels;  but  the  lighter  craft 


392  George  Palmer  Putnam 

in  London,  cruising  about  for  free  spoils  in  books,  had  discov- 
ered that  there  was,  at  least,  a  question  whether  an  American 
author  could  convey  a  right  to  an  English  publisher  which  he 
did  not  first  possess  himself; — and  so  they  had  boldly  seized 
Mr.  Bentley's  guinea-and-a-half  "copyright  editions,"  and  had 
printed  them  for  a  shilling, — in  defiance  both  of  courtesy  and 
tradition.  As  to  the  English  law,  that  still  remains  in  in- 
glorious uncertainty,  while  our  law  is  still  ingloriously  certain 
— on  the  wrong  side.) 

Hall,  Cooperstown,  July  23,  1849. 

My  dear  Sir:  .  .  .  Mr.  Bentley  has  sent  me  a  recent 
decision  of  an  English  court,  which,  as  he  asserts,  goes  to  affect 
his  interest  in  my  books.  He  sends  me  a  new  proposition  for 
the  publication  of  The  Ways  of  the  Hour  that  I  have  declined 
accepting.  Now,  I  wish  to  know  if  you  cannot  dispose  of  this 
book  for  me  to  some  English  publisher.  .  .  . 

I  shall  expect  somewhere  about  £400  for  the  book,  to  be 
paid  in  drafts  on  the  publishers  at  sixty  days,  £100  on  sending 
vol.  I,  £100  on  sending  vol.  II,  and  balance  on  sending  the 
last  volume  of  the  work.  I  did  think  of  asking  £500  for  this 
particular  book,  which  is  more  elaborated  than  most  of  its 
companions ;  but  this  difficulty  may  compel  me  to  accept  even 
£300.  There  has  certainly  been  a  decision  adverse  to  Ameri- 
can copyrights,  but  it  is  evident  that  Bentley  himself  does  not 
think  it  will  stand. 

Under  no  circumstances  will  I  sell  a  book  to  share  the  profits. 
This  is  of  the  nature  of  Bentley's  last  proposition,  though  he 
proposes  paying  me  down  for  a  certain  number  of  copies. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

Fenimore  Cooper. 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Prescott,  the  historian,  written  in 
connection  with  The  Homes  of  American  Authors,  may 
find  place  here. 

Boston,  May  12,  1852. 

My  dear  Sir:     At  your  suggestion,  I  have  found  an  artist 


A  Publisher's   Letter   Booh  393 

and  sent  him  to  Pepperell.  The  result  is  the  sketch  which  I 
enclose  to  you. 

I  am  very  well  pleased  to  have  this  old  place,  to  which  I  am 
attached  by  many  associations  and  recollections,  thus  pre- 
served ;  and  I  shall  not,  therefore,  charge  you  with  the  expense 
of  the  sketch  as  you  proposed,  but  only  desire  that,  in  case 
you  do  not  use  it,  you  will  return  the  drawings  to  me. 

The  place  at  Pepperell  has  been  in  the  family  for  more  than 
a  century  and  a  half — an  uncommon  event  among  our  loco- 
motive people. 

The  house  is  about  a  century  old — the  original  building 
having  been  greatly  enlarged,  by  my  father  first,  and  since 
by  me.  It  is  here  that  my  grandfather,  Col.  Wm.  Prescott, 
who  commanded  at  Bunker  Hill, «  was  born  and  died,  and  in 
the  village  churchyard  he  lies  buried,  under  a  simple  slab, 
containing  only  the  record  of  his  name  and  age.  My  father, 
Wm.  Prescott,  the  best  and  wisest  of  the  name,  was  also  born, 
and  passed  his  earlier  days  here.  And  from  my  own  infancy 
not  a  year  has  passed  that  I  have  not  spent  more  or  less  of  in 
these  shades,  now  hallowed  to  me  by  the  recollections  of  happy 
hours  and  friends  that  are  gone. 

The  place  which  is  called  "The  Highlands"  consists  of  some 
two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  about  forty-two  miles  from  Boston, 
on  the  border  line  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire.  It 
is  a  fine  rolling  country,  and  the  house  stands  on  a  rising  ground 
that  descends  with  a  gentle  sweep  to  the  Nissitisset,  a  clear 
and  very  pretty  river,  affording  picturesque  views  in  its 
winding  course.  A  bold  mountain  chain  on  the  north-west 
among  which  is  the  grand  Monadnock  of  New  Hampshire, 
makes  a  dark  frame  to  the  picture.  The  land  is  well  studded 
with  trees — oak,  walnut,  chestnut,  and  maple — distributed 
in  clumps  and  avenues,  so  as  to  produce  an  excellent  effect. 
The  maple,  in  particular,  in  the  autumn  season,  when  the 
family  are  there,  makes  a  brave  show  with  its  gay  livery  when 
touched  by  the  frost. 

'A  very  proper  belief  for  his  grandson  to  hold.  There  is,  however, 
good  evidence  in  support  of  the  belief  that  the  responsibility  for  the 
command  rested  with  General  Putnam. 


394  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

As  I  have  mentioned  to  you,  I  usually  pass  the  hot  months 
in  the  cottage  at  Nahant,  of  which  I  sent  you  a  sketch,  and 
then  migrate  to  the  Highlands  until  winter  brings  us  back  to 
town.  The  ample  accommodations  of  the  house  are  put  into 
requisition ;  for  I  have  endeavoured  to  keep  up  the  good  name 
for  hospitality  which  the  old  dwelling  has  had  for  many  a  year. 
And  yet  it  is  the  spot  where  I  often  do  most  work ;  and  many  a 
chapter  of  Ferdinand  and  Mexico  have  I  composed  while 
galloping  over  the  hills,  or  wandering  among  the  chestnut 
shades  of  my  favourite  walk  in  autumn. 

I  have  been  thus  particular  at  your  suggestion ;  and  if  more 
than  you  desire,  I  suppose  it  is  because  I  love  the  theme  better 
than  you  can. 

I  remain,  .  .  . 

Wm.  H.  Prescott. 

Nahant,  July  9,  1852. 

My  dear  Sir:  As  you  desire,  I  send  you  a  specimen  of  my 
autograph.  It  is  the  concluding  page  of  one  of  the  chapters 
of  The  Conquest  of  Peru,  Book  III.,  chap.  3.  The  writing  is 
not,  as  you  may  imagine,  made  by  a  pencil,  but  is  indelible, 
being  made  with  an  apparatus  used  by  the  blind.  This  is  a 
very  simple  affair,  consisting  of  a  frame  of  the  size  of  a  com- . 
mon  sheet  of  letter-paper,  with  brass  wires  inserted  in  it,  to 
correspond  with  the  number  of  lines  wanted.  On  one  side  of 
this  frame  is  pasted  a  leaf  of  thin  carbonated  paper,  such  as  is 
used  to  obtain  duplicates. 

Instead  of  a  pen,  the  writer  makes  use  of  a  stylus  of  ivory  or 
agate,  the  last  being  better  or  harder.  The  great  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  a  blind  man's  writing  in  the  usual  manner  arise 
from  his  not  knowing  when  the  ink  is  exhausted  in  his  pen,  and 
when  his  lines  run  into  one  another.  Both  difficulties  are 
obviated  by  this  simple  writing  case,  which  enables  one  to 
do  his  work  as  well  in  the  dark  as  in  the  light. 

Though  my  trouble  is  not  blindness,  but  a  disorder  of  the 
nerve  of  the  eye,  the  effect,  so  far  as  this  is  concerned,  is 
the  same,  and  I  am  wholly  incapacitated  for  writing  in  the 
ordinary  way. 

In  this  manner  I  have  written  every  word  of  my  historicals. 


A  Publisher's  Letter  Booh  395 

This  modus  operandi  exposes  one  to  some  embarrassments. 
For  as  one  cannot  see  what  he  is  doing  on  the  other  side  of  the 
paper,  any  more  than  a  performer  in  the  treadmill  sees  what 
he  is  grinding  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  it  becomes  very 
difficult  to  make  corrections.  This  requires  the  subject  to 
be  pretty  thoroughly  canvassed  in  the  mind,  and  all  the  blots 
and  erasures  to  be  made  there  before  taking  up  the  pen — or 
rather  the  stylus.  This  compels  me  to  go  over  my  composi- 
tion— to  the  extent  of  a  whole  chapter,  however  long  it  may 
be — several  times  in  my  head,  before  sitting  down  to  my  desk. 
When  there,  the  work  becomes  one  of  memory,  rather  than 
of  creation,  and  the  writing  is  apt  to  run  off  glibly  enough. 

A  letter  which  I  received  some  years  since  from  the  French 
historian  Thierry,  who  is  totally  blind,  urged  me,  by  all  means, 
to  cultivate  the  habit  of  dictation,  to  which  he  had  resorted. 
And  James,  the  eminent  novelist,  who  has  adopted  this  habit, 
finds  it  favourable  to  facility  of  composition.  But  I  have 
been  too  long  accustomed  to  my  own  way  to  change.  And 
to  say  truth,  I  never  dictated  a  sentence  in  my  life  for  publica- 
tion, without  its  falling  so  flat  on  my  ear  that  I  felt  almost 
ashamed  to  send  it  to  the  press.     I  suppose  it  is  habit. 

One  thing  I  may  add.  My  MS.  is  usually  too  illegible  (I 
have  sent  you  a  favourable  specimen)  for  the  press ;  and  it  is 
always  fairly  copied  by  an  amanuensis  before  it  is  consigned 
to  the  printer.  I  have  accompanied  the  autograph  with  these 
explanations,  which  are  at  your  service,  if  you  think  they  will 
have  interest  for  your  readers.  My  modus  operandi  has  the 
merit  of  novelty.  At  least,  I  have  never  heard  of  any  history- 
monger  who  has  adopted  it  besides  myself. 

I  remain,  .  .  . 

Wm.  H.  Prescott. 


In  one  of  many  letters  which  I  received  in  England  from  Mr. 
Tupper,  the  poet-proverbialist,  he  says,  "Shall  we  make 
Edgar  Poe  famous  by  a  notice  in  the  Literary  Gazette?" 
referring  to  the  volumes  of  Poe's  Tales  which  Mr.  Wiley  had 
printed  in  our  "Library  of  American  Books, "  and  which  I  had 


396  George  Palmer  Pvitnam 

given  to  the  poet  as  novelties.  These  tales  have  a  weird  kind 
of  fascination,  which  made  me  curiously  interested  in  the 
author,  whom  I  had  never  seen.  Another  incident  enhanced 
this  interest.  At  our  London  office  we  had  received  about 
1840,  a  volume  called  The  Narrative  of  Arthur  Gordon  Pym,  of 
Nantucket,  which,  in  a  long  title-page,  purported  to  describe 
sundry  veritable  voyages,  ending  with  one  in  which  the 
author  had  reached  the  eighty-fourth  parallel  of  southern 
latitude.  The  late  Mr.  Daniel  Appleton  was  sitting  in  our 
office  in  Paternoster  Row.  "Here  is  an  American  contribu- 
tion to  geographical  science,"  I  said  to  him.  "This  man  has 
reached  a  higher  latitude  than  any  European  navigator.  Let 
us  reprint  this  for  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Bull."  He  assented,  and 
took  half  share  in  the  venture.  The  grave  particularity  of 
the  title  and  of  the  narrative  misled  many  of  the  critics  as  well 
as  ourselves,  and  whole  columns  of  these  new  "discoveries," 
including  the  hieroglyphics  ( ! )  found  on  the  rocks,  were  copied 
by  many  of  the  English  country  papers  as  sober  historical 
truth.  Whether  such  a  book  were  as  justifiable  as  Robinson 
Crusoe  may  be  questioned — it  was  certainly  ingenious  and 
skilful. 

Some  years  after,  when  my  desk  was  in  Broadway,  in 
I  separate  quarters,  a  gentleman  with  a  somewhat  nervous  and 
excited  manner  claimed  attention  on  a  subject  which  he  said 
was  of  the  highest  importance.  Seated  at  my  desk,  and  look- 
ing at  me  a  full  minute  with  his  "glittering  eye,"  he  at  length 
said:  "I  am  Mr.  Poe."  I  was  "all  ear,"  of  course,  and  sin- 
cerely interested.  It  was  the  author  of  The  Raven,  and  of 
The  Gold  Bug !  "I  hardly  know,"  said  the  poet,  after  a  pause, 
"how  to  begin  what  I  have  to  say.  It  is  a  matter  of  profound 
importance."  After  another  pause,  the  poet  seeming  to  be  in 
a  tremor  of  excitement,  he  at  length  went  on  to  say  that  the 
publication  he  had  to  propose  was  of  momentous  interest. 
Newton's  discovery  of  gravitation  was  a  mere  incident  com- 
pared to  the  discoveries  revealed  in  this  book.  It  would  at 
once  command  such  universal  and  intense  attention  that  the 
publisher  might  give  up  all  other  enterprises,  and  make  this 
one  book  the  business  of  his  lifetime.     An  edition  of  fifty 


A  Publisher's  Letter  Booh  397 

thousand  copies  might  be  sufficient  to  begin  with,  but  it  would 
be  but  a  small  beginning.  No  other  scientific  event  in  the 
history  of  the  world  approached  in  importance  the  original 
developments  of  this  book.  All  this  and  more,  not  in  irony 
or  in  jest,  but  in  intense  earnest,  for  he  held  me  with  his  eye 
like  the  Ancient  Mariner.  I  was  really  impressed — but  not 
overcome.  Promising  a  decision  on  Monday  (it  was  late 
Saturday  p.m.),  the  poet  had  to  rest  so  long  in  uncertainty 
about  the  extent  of  the  edition — partly  reconciled,  by  a  small 
loan,  meanwhile. «  We  did  venture,  not  upon  fifty  thousand, 
but  seven  hundred  and  fifty. 

Even  after  this  small  edition  was  in  type,  the  poet  proposed 
to  punish  us  by  giving  a  duplicate  of  the  MS.  to  another 
publisher,  because  a  third  little  advance  was  deemed  inex- 
pedient. 

This  little  book  of  "great  expectations"  was  Eureka — A 
New  Theory  of  the  Universe — which  Mr.  Poe  had  read  as  a 
lecture  to  a  small  audience  at  the  Society  Library.  A  South- 
ern magazine,  The  Nineteenth  Century,  gave  recently  a  high 
estimate  of  the  theory  or  discovery  announced  in  Eureka- 
but  it  has  never,  apparently,  caused  any  profound  interest 
either  to  popular  or  scientific  readers. 


During  Mr.  Edward  Everett's  residence  in  London  as 
American  Minister,  the  few  American  families  residing  there 
were  always  made  at  home  at  the  Legation  receptions,  where 
we  sometimes  met  English  notabilities,  such  as  Sydney  Smith, 
who  was  a  firm  friend  of  our  Minister — even  while  he  was 
writing  epigrams  on  Pennsylvania  bonds — and  whose  rather 
burly  figure  and  good-humoured,  wit-lighted  face  were  fre- 
quently visible  among  Mr.  Everett's  visitors.  Mr.  Everett's 
interest  in  the  progress  of  American  letters  was  evidenced  in 
many  inquiries  received  from  him  respecting  book-making 
statistics.  He  kindly  made  suggestions  in  regard  to  some 
facts  and  figures  which  I  had  collected  in  answer  to  a  chapter 

1  The  text  of  the  receipt  given  by  Poe  for  the  second  loan  is  given  in 
an  earlier  chapter  under  the  year  1848. 


398  George  Palmer  Putnam 

of  Alison's  Europe  referring  to  American  authorship,  which 
he  "had  read  with  pleasure,"  and  which  would  "be  of  great 
value  to  the  candid  Englishman." 

When  Mr.  Everett  was  Secretary  of  State,  he  arranged  with 
Mr.  Crampton  (British  Minister)  the  plan  of  a  treaty  for  inter- 
national copyright ;  but  this  treaty,  by  some  opposing  influence, 
was  withheld  and  never  presented  to  the  Senate.  At  Mr. 
Everett's  request,  I  had  prepared  a  schedule  of  the  American 
books  that  had  been  reprinted  in  England  up  to  that  time — 
most  of  them  being  more  or  less  disguised  in  their  English 
costume — the  whole  number  being  about  seven  hundred  and 
fifty. 

Washington,  March  25,  1853. 

Dear  Sir:  I  duly  received  yours  of  the  16th,  with  the  list 
of  American  works  published  in  England,  for  which  I  am 
greatly  indebted  to  you. 

It  is  a  very  important  document,  and  when  properly  made 
use  of  will  have  its  effect  on  the  public  mind. 

I  do  not  think  we  shall  be  able  to  take  up  the  Copy-Right 
Convention  at  this  session.  The  Senate  is  greatly  preoccupied 
with  other  subjects,  and  there  is  an  indisposition  to  take  up 
business  of  this  kind. 

Great  pains  have  been  taken  by  outsiders  to  prejudice  the 
Senate  against  the  treaty;  and  not  much  to  counteract  these 
efforts.  It  is  the  universal  opinion,  as  far  as  I  know,  of  the 
friends  of  the  measure,  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  take  it  up 
this  Spring. 

Let  this,  however,  be  entre  nous.  You  must  get  some  able, 
temperate,  and  skilful  friend  of  the  measure  to  advocate  it  in 
a  series  of  articles  in  your  magazine.  It  would  be  worth  while 
to  have  something  in  each  number  during  the  recess  of 
Congress. 

With  great  regard,  faithfully  yours, 

Edward  Everett. 


Paris,  November  28,  1836. 
Dear   Sir:     .  .  .  Proposals  have  been  made  to  me   for 
translating  some  fragments  of  my  writings  into  the  French 


A  Publisher's  Letter  Booh  399 

journals,  and  I  think  that,  at  least,  the  sketch  of  American 
literature  and  some  part  of  Woman  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 
might  be  interesting  here.  Will  you  have  the  kindness  to 
send  me  five  copies  of  the  Papers  on  Literature  and  Art,  and 
to  purchase  for  me  as  many  of  Woman,  etc.,  to  send  with  them. 
I  can  give  them  away  much  to  my  advantage  and  pleasure  to 
the  persons  with  whom  I  am  making  acquaintance.  As  I 
have  already  given  away  the  copies  I  brought  with  me,  would 
you  have  the  kindness  to  send  the  parcel  as  early  as  possible, 
and  in  some  safe  way,  to  my  address  here.  .  .  . 

We  are  enjoying  a  great  deal  here;  it  is  truly  the  city  of 
pleasures. 

Mademoiselle  Rachel  I  have  seen  with  the  greatest  delight. 

I  go  whenever  she  acts,  and  when  I  have  seen  the  entire  range 

of  her  parts,  intend  to  write  a  detailed  critique,  which  shall 

also  comprehend  comments  on  the  high  French  tragedy.  .  .  . 

With  compliments,   .   .  . 

Margaret  Fuller. 

During  her  visit  to  London,  on  her  way  to  Italy,  Margaret 
Fuller  passed  an  evening  at  Knickerbocker  Cottage;  and  I 
had  also  an  opportunity  to  study  her  peculiar  manner  when 
she  made  an  address  at  the  anniversary  of  an  Italian  school, 
at  which  Mazzini,  Gallenga,  and  others  made  speeches.  In 
this  address  (1847)  Miss  Fuller  said  it  was  quite  customary 
in  her  own  country  for  women  to  speak  in  public.  This 
seemed  to  me  to  be  not  a  very  accurate,  though  it  might  be 
a  prophetic,  remark. 

It  so  happened  that  our  party  in  Genoa,  Leghorn,  Naples, 
and  Rome  was  a  good  deal  with  that  of  Miss  Fuller.  Between 
Leghorn  and  Civita  Vecchia  our  steamer,  an  English  one,  was 
run  down  in  the  night  by  a  French  steamer.  As  they  were 
going  in  opposite  directions,  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an 
hour,  such  a  shock  in  the  dead  of  night,  knocking  us  out  of 
our  berths,  was  not  fitted  to  soothe  an  anxious  spirit.  The 
first  impulse  was  to  rush  on  deck  to  see  if  we  were  actually 
sinking.  Fortunately  the  bow  of  the  Frenchman  had  merely 
smashed  one  of  our  paddle-boxes,  and  the  wheel  itself,  but 


400  George  Palmer  Putnam 

had  not  injured  the  hull;  so  I  jumped  down  to  the  ladies' 
cabin  to  reassure  my  wife  and  the  other  ladies.  The  door 
was  opened  by  Miss  Fuller  in  her  nightdress.  Instead  of 
hysterical  fright,  as  I  expected,  my  hurried  report  that  there 
would  be  time  to  dress  before  we  went  to  the  bottom  was  met 
by  Miss  Fuller  by  a  remark  that  seemed  to  me  superhuman 
in  its  quiet  calmness :  "Oh,  we — had  not — made  up  our  minds, 
that  it  was — worth  while — to  be  at  all — alarmed!"  Verily 
woman — American  woman,  at  least — is  wonderful  for  her  cool 
philosophy  and  strong-nerved  stoicism  in  great  danger ! 

The  narration  in  the  memoirs  of  Miss  Fuller  of  her  first  meet- 
ing with  her  future  husband,  the  Marquis  d'Ossoli,  is  not 
accurate.  Her  party  had  been  attending  some  of  the  services 
of  Holy  Week  in  St.  Peter's — ours  had  heard  the  Miserere  in 
the  Sistine  Chapel.  As  we  came  away  from  the  Chapel,  and 
met  the  throng  from  the  great  church  on  the  steps,  Miss  Fuller 
stepped  out  quickly  to  overtake  us,  saying  she  had  lost  her 
friends ;  and  as  it  was  nearly  dark,  she  seemed  quite  bewildered 
— more  alarmed,  indeed,  than  when  we  were  really  in  danger 
of  being  drowned  in  the  Mediterranean.  She  had  taken  the 
arm  of  .a  young  gentleman  in  the  crowd,  who  had  politely 
offered  to  escort  her  home,  or  to  a  cab ;  but  on  joining  us,  she 
took  leave  of  him,  as  we  thought,  rather  ungraciously.  She 
certainly  did  not  give  her  address  to  him,  but  left  him  in  the 
crowd,  and  we  ourselves  took  her  to  her  lodgings.  How  and 
when  they  met  again,  we  do  not  know.  But  this  was  the  first 
time  the  Marquis  had  seen  her,  and  he  left  her  in  the  confusion, 
without  knowing  who  she  was  or  where  she  lived. 

At  a  notable  private  concert  at   the  Palazzo ,  Miss 

Fuller  appeared  with  us  one  evening,  rather  unconsciously, 
in  the  character  of  Madame.  The  superb  music,  from  some 
of  the  best  artists  in  Europe,  with  cardinals  and  other  grandees 
for  fellow-guests,  was  pleasant  to  remember,  rather  than  the 
question  of  identity  suggested  by  the  very  magnificent  hostess 
and  her  chief  of  staff. 

II 

Stockholm,  May  4,  1854. 
My  dear  Sir:      The  moment  is  come  when  I  can  fulfil  the 


A  Publisher  s  Letter  DooK  401 

promise  given  to  my  friend  A.  J.  Downing,  and  to  yourself, 
that  you,  and  no  other  publisher  in  America,  should  be  the 
publisher  of  my  first  novel  after  my  work,  Homes  of  the  New 
World.  That  work,  and  many  cares  both  private  and  public, 
have  taken  up  my  thoughts  and  my  time  since,  so  that  I  had 
no  time  to  write  a  novel;  until  lately  the  pressure  of  the  spirit 
has  had  the  upper  hand,  and  made  me  bring  forth  a  novel, 
not  of  large  size,  but,  as  I  presume  to  say,  of  no  small  or  narrow 
mind.  I  shall  have  it  printed  leisurely  during  the  summer, 
so  as  to  have  it  ready  to  be  published  in  November  or  Decem- 
ber. Every  printed  sheet  I  shall  send  (reduced  to  its  smallest 
dimensions)  to  England,  to  France,  Germany,  and  to  America, 
all  at  the  same  time,  and  so  that  the  different  publications 
may  all  be  issued  at  the  same  time.  I  do  not  think  that  the 
size  of  this  new  book  will  exceed  that  of  my  little  novel,  The 
Midnight  Sun.  I  leave  it  to  you  if  you  will  have  the  transla- 
tion done  in  America,  in  case  of  which  I  wish  you  would  try 
to  engage  Mrs. to  do  it;  or,  if  you  will,  make  an  agree- 
ment with  Mrs.  Mary  Howitt  to  have  a  copy  of  her  English 
translation.  Her  genial  mind  and  manner  of  writing  will 
always  make  her  translations  in  many  ways  unsurpassed ;  and 
her  growing  knowledge  of  the  Swedish  language  will  hereafter 
make  mistakes  of  words  very  rare ;  nor  will  they  matter  much 
in  a  work  of  fiction.  I  leave  to  you  to  make  the  pecuniary 
terms  of  the  agreement  between  us,  perfectly  sure  that  they 
will  be  honourable ;  and  I  am  ready  to  subscribe  to  any  mode 
you  shall  propose.  Only  I  wish  that  you  will  pay  the  postage, 
in  case  you  want  me  to  send  the  printed  sheets  over  to  America 
and  I  cannot  get  them  free  of  post  by  the  legation  of  the 
United  States  in  Stockholm,  which  I  fear  will  not  be  possible. 
I  do  not  think  it  safe  to  send  anything  with  travellers;  these 
are  apt  to  be  forgetful,  and  leave  the  things  behind  them. 

My  friend  Downing  wrote  to  me,  in  the  last  letter  that  I 
received  from  him  (shortly  before  his  most  tragical  death), 
that  he  would  send  to  me  several  books — I  think  called  Ameri- 
can Stories — all  written  by  women.  I  have  also  heard  of 
travellers  being  charged  with  some  books  for  me,  which  I 
supposed  to  be  these;  yet  they  have  never  come  to  me.  I  am 
26 


402  George  Palmer  Putnam 

sure,  also,  that  you  have  forwarded  to  me  that  last  work  of 
my  friend  for  which  I  had  written  a  biographical  sketch,  and 
sent  from  Sweden  the  daguerreotype  after  which  the  portrait 
in  the  book  was  drawn.  I  am  sure  that  Mrs.  Downing  would 
not  that  I  should  be  without  this  last  dear  memory  of  her 
husband  and  my  friend.  .  .  . 

Many  changes,  most  of  them  sorrowful,  have  taken  place 
among  my  friends  in  America  since  I  was  with  them.  Some 
of  these  friends  have  blessed  me  with  their  visits  in  my  land 
and  home;  some  I  hope  still  to  see  here.     My  dear  friends  of 

Cottage  are  still  in  Europe,  and  gave  several  weeks  last 

summer  to  Scandinavia,  which  made  me  happy,  as  I  was  there 
with  them.  I  hope,  my  dear  sir,  that  the  happy  and  beautiful 
family  that  I  saw  at  your  house  on  Staten  Island  is  so  still, 
only  growing,  as  all  good  things  should. — Give  my  kind  regards 
to  my  lovely  hostess  there,  and  remember  me  to  common 
friends. 

I  remain,  my  dear  sir, 

Yours  faithfully, 

Fredrika  Bremer. 

London,  Dec.  9,  1851. 
Sir:  I  have  a  bad  habit,  sometimes,  of  not  opening  parcels 
which  are  addressed  to  me;  and  I  am  appropriately  punished 
by  not  having  till  now  discovered  the  very  neat  edition  of  my 
lectures  which  you  have  had  the  great  kindness  to  send  me, 
Late  as  it  is,  and  uncertain  as  I  am  whether  this  will  find  you, 
I  cannot  forbear  from  expressing  my  gratification  at  the 
fact  of  my  production  having  been  deemed  worthy  of  republi- 
cation in  a  country  to  which  I  feel  so  many  ties  of  attachment, 
and  at  your  own  personal  courtesy  in  the  matter.     I  have  the 

honour  to  be  your  obliged  servant, 

Carlisle.1 

48  Doughty  Street, 
Friday,  Aug.  31,  1838. 
...  I  beg  to  thank  you  for  the  books  you  have  been  so 

'Earl  of  Carlisle— Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland;  better  known  in  the 
United  States  as  Lord  Morpeth.  His  two  Lectures— one  on  "America" 
and  the  other  on  "  The  Poetry  of  Pope"— had  been  reprinted  in  New 
York  by  G.  P.  P.  &  Co. 


A  Publisher's  Letter  BooK  403 

obliging  as  to  forward  me.  I  have  only  had  time  to  glance  at 
them,  but  have  been  already  much  pleased,  and  hope  to  be  more 
so.  I  assure  you  that  nothing  would  yield  me  greater  pleasure 
than  to  be  the  humble  means  of  introducing  any  American 
writer  to  this  part  of  the  world.  I  would  only  entreat  you  to 
remember  that  our  means  do  not  always  keep  pace  with  our 
inclination,  and  that  the  claims  upon  the  very  limited  space 
of  such  a  magazine  as  the  Miscellany  are  necessarily  more  than 
it  is  possible  to  answer  with  any  speed  or  regularity.  I  should 
be  very  happy  to  write  something  for  the  Knickerbocker  and 
American  Monthly;  but  I  do  assure  you  I  have  scarcely  time 
to  complete  my  existing  engagements.  So  I  think  I  must 
defer  this  pleasure  until  I  visit  America,  which  I  hope  to  do 
before  very  long ;  and  then  I  shall  be  more  independent  and 
free,  which  will  be  more  in  keeping.  I  am  your  obedient 
servant, 

Charles  Dickens. 

New  York,  November  16,  1850. 
Dear  Sir:  I  received,  yesterday,  your  note,  with  an  en- 
closed letter  from  England,  and  beg  hereby  to  return  to  you 
my  best  thanks  for  the  same.  I  feel  exceedingly  sorry  to  hear 
that  you  have  not  received  my  acknowledgment  of  the  receipt 
of  the  beautiful  books  which  you  so  kindly  presented  to  me 
when  last  in  New  York,  and  may  thus  have  been  led  to  think 
that  I  did  not  fully  appreciate  your  splendid  gift ;  but  beg  you 
to  be  assured  that  such  is  not  the  case,  as,  on  the  contrary, 
they  have  afforded  me  great  enjoyment.  Believe  me,  dear 
sir,  yours,  truly  obliged, 

Jenny  Lind. 

4  Vane  Street,  Bath,  England, 

November  3,  1856. 
Dear  Sir:     I  have  just  received  safely  your  letter  of  the 
1 8th  of  last  month,  with  the  two  bills1  enclosed;  and  while 
acknowledging  the  receipt  of  them,  I  must  express  my  sense 

1  Exchange  for  about  £200,  for  "copyright"  on  sales  of  the  New  York 
edition  of  her  Letters  from  America. 


404  George  Palmer  Putnam 

of  the  honourable  manner  in  which  the  business  has  been 
conducted. 

I  have  not  yet  received  Professor  Gray's  work,  but  no  doubt 
it  will  be  duly  forwarded.  I  remain,  dear  sir,  yours,  truly 
obliged, 

Amelia  M.  Murray. 

Parliament  Street,  London. 

Sir:  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  communicate  any  particulars 
relative  to  Mrs.  Charlotte  Lennox,  except  what  appears  in 
Nichols's  Literary  Anecdotes,  the  Gentleman's  Magazine, 
Chalmers's  Biographical  Dictionary,  etc.  She  was  an  active 
member  of  the  literary  world  for  a  long  series  of  years.  Her 
history,  in  brief,  appears  to  have  been  this : 

Barbara  Charlotte  Lennox  was  the  daughter  of  Lieutenant- 
General  George  Ramsay,  Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  York, 
and  was  born  about  17 19  or  1720.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  she 
came  to  England  to  visit  a  wealthy  aunt;  but  on  her  arrival 
her  aunt  was  out  of  her  senses,  and  never  recovered  them,  and 
about  the  same  time  her  father  died. 

From  this  period  she  depended  on  her  literary  talents  for 
support.  In  1747  she  published  a  volume  of  poems;  in  1752, 
The  Female  Quixote  and  Memoirs  of  Harriet  Stuart;  in  1753. 
Shakespeare,  illustrated,  2  vols. ;  in  1 756,  Memoirs  of  the  Countess 
of  Berci  and  Sully's  Memoirs;  in  1758,  Philander:  a  Dramatic 
Pastoral,  and  Henrietta,  a  novel;  in  1760,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  Earl  of  Cork  and  Orrery  and  Dr.  Johnson,  a  translation 
of  Father  Brumoy's  Greek  Theatre,  3  vols.  In  1762  she  pub- 
lished Sophia,  a  novel,  and  in  1769  brought  out  at  Covent 
Garden  The  Sisters,  a  comedy,  from  her  novel  of  Henrietta. 
This  comedy  was  not  successful.  In  1773  she  produced,  at 
Drury  Lane,  another  comedy  called  Old  City  Manners.  She 
afterwards  wrote  (it  is  believed)  Euphemia,  a  novel. 

Her  latter  years  were  clouded  by  distress;  and  it  is  men- 
tioned in  the  printed  notices  of  her,  that  she  was  relieved  by 
the  Literary  Fund;  but  no  additional  particulars  of  her  are 
to  be  gleaned  from  their  books.  The  Literary  Fund  seems 
also  to  have  assisted  to  fit  out  her  son  for  an  employment  in 


A  Publisher's  Letter  BooK  405 

America.  Dr.  Johnson's  high  opinion  of  her  may  be  learned 
by  the  following  extract  from  Boswell's  Life:  "I  dined  yester- 
day at  Mr.  Garrick's,  with  Mrs.  Carter,  Miss  Hannah  More, 
and  Miss  Fanny  Burney.  Three  such  women  are  not  to  be 
found.  I  know  not  where  to  find  a  fourth,  except  Mrs.  Len- 
nox, who  is  superior  to  them  a//." 

Besides  the  works  before  noticed,  she  published  Memoirs  of 
Madame  de  Maintenon,  2  vols. ;  translated  The  Age  of  Louis 
XIV.;  Eliza,  erroneously  attributed  to  Dr.  Young;  Harriet 
and  Sophia,  2  vols. ;  and  translated  The  Devotions  of  Mademoi- 
selle de  V oilier e,  Mistress  of  Louis  XIV.;  and  the  first  three 
numbers  of  The  Trifler.  She  died  in  Dean's  Yard,  in  the  parish 
of  St.  Margaret,  and  is  buried  in  the  parochial  ground;  but 
no  stone  marks  the  spot  where  she  was  interred. 
Your  very  obedient  servant, 

B.  Nichols.1 

My  dear  Miss  Peabody:  I  now  write  to  ask  the  favour 
of  you  to  transmit  a  message  to  Mr.  P.,  of  London,  by  the 
earliest  conveyance  you  may  have.  Will  you  say  to  him  that 
his  communication  to  my  father,  of  the  18th  of  April,  by  the 
Cambria,  reached  us  on  the  day  of  my  father's  death — a  few 
hours  only  before  his  death,  when  he  was  so  weak  as  to  be 
apparently  unconscious. 

We  were  thus  debarred  the  satisfaction  of  communicating 
to  him  this  testimony  of  Mr.  Putnam's  regard  for  my  father's 
just  rights  and  literary  reputation.  As  we  are  denied  the 
privilege  of  knowing  and  communicating  my  father's  views 
and  wishes  on  this  subject,  which  possessed  for  him  so  deep 
an  interest,  will  you  thank  Mr.  Putnam  in  our  name  for  the 
regard  he  has  thus  manifested? 

It  will  be  gratifying  to  Mr.  Putnam  to  be  assured  that  the 
course  which  he  took  in  England  in  relation  to  the  Greek 
Lexicon  has  met  with  the  approbation  of  two  of  my  father's 

1  Author  of  Literary  Anecdotes  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  in  16,  vols.  8vo. 
At  this  time  he  was  about  eighty  years  old,  and  remained  as  a  connecting 
link  with  the  days  of  Dr.  Johnson,  Goldsmith,  and  Reynolds. 


406  George  Palmer  Putnam 

most  intimate  friends,  Mr.  William  H.  Prescott  and  Professor 
Edward  Robinson. 

Yours  very  truly, 
Mary  0.  Pickering.1 
Rowe  St.  July  i,  1846. 

Abingdon,  February  28,  1844. 

Sir:  Your  note  found  me  on  the  eve  of  my  departure  for 
the  Oxford  Circuit,  and  too  much  pressed  by  business  to 
answer  it  before  leaving  town.  In  reply  to  your  inquiry,  I  beg 
to  inform  you  that  the  Copyright  Act,  5th  and  6th  inst.,  is 
that  which  you  refer  to  as  mine — that  which  I  endeavoured 
to  pass  for  four  sessions;  but  it  is  not  purely  mine,  as  I  was 
not  in  Parliament  when  it  was  passed. 

It  does  not  affect  the  question  of  international  copyright, 
as  I  relinquished  the  clause  I  had  prepared  to  the  conduct  of 
Government,  by  whom  the  bill  of  1838  was  carried. 

I  have  no  objection  to  the  publication  of  my  letter  to  you. 
It  was  written  very  hastily,  and  is  not,  therefore,  in  point  of 
style  what  I  should  desire  to  see  published ;  but  as  it  contains 
the  substance  of  my  opinion  on  the  existing  position  of  the  law, 
I  will  not  on  that  account  desire  to  suppress  it. 

Accept  my  thanks  for  the  books  which  accompanied  your 
last  note;  and  believe  me  to  remain,  sir,  yours  faithfully, 

T.  N.  Talfourd.2 


1  Daughter  of  the  late  John  Pickering,  author  of  a  Greek  Lexicon.  Re- 
ferring to  a  correspondence  with  Prof.  Dunbar  of  Edinburgh,  who  was 
charged,  in  American  Facts,  with  using  Pickering's  work  in  his  own  Lexicon, 
without  any  proper  credit.  His  angry  denial  was  replied  to  in  the 
Scotsman. 

1  Sergeant  Talfourd,  M.  P.,  author  of  Ion — an  active  promoter  of  the 
interests  of  authors. 

The  question  of  the  rights  belonging  to  foreigners  under  the  Act  of  2d 

Victoria  (1838)  came  into  discussion  in  various  suits  of  later  date.     Murray 

vs.  Bohn,  Low  vs.  Routledge,  etc.     It  was  passed  upon  by  the  law  officers 

Crown  in  July,  1891, — who  accepted   the  conclusions  of  Talfourd. 

Their  decision  has  since  been  questioned  by  McGillivray  (1902). 

G.  H.  P. 


A  Publisher's  Letter  BooK  407 

in 

During  Miss  Bremer's  visit  to  this  country,  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  her  at  Mr.  Downing's,  on  the  Hudson, 
and  she  was  also  a  guest  for  a  few  days  at  our  house  on  Staten 
Island.  "Why  not  publish  a  decent  library  edition  of  Miss 
Bremer's  works  while  she  is  here?"  said  Mr.  Downing  one 
evening  while  we  were  sitting  together  in  his  library.  "If 
Miss  Bremer  will  sanction  it,  and  write  a  preface  and  revise 
the  translations,  we  shall  be  glad  to  do  so."  All  this  was  done. 
But,  unfortunately,  the  "rights"  arising  from  previous  reprints 
(sold  at  one  eighth  of  the  price  by  the  Harpers)  were  made 
the  pretext  for  hostilities  against  us,  because  we  had  dared  thus 
to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  author  and  her  friends. 

Stockholm,  October  14,  1844. 

My  dear  Sir:  After  a  residence  of  several  months  in  the 
country,  far  away  from  Stockholm,  I  have  returned  to  my 
capital,  and  there  received  your  note  of  the  10th  July,  and  the 
bill  for  the  case  of  books  you  have  had  the  kindness  to  send  to 
me  with  the  Brig  Beate  to  Gotheborg.  Of  the  brig  and  the 
bookcase  I  have  as  yet  no  kind  of  intimation  from  Gotheborg, 
but  will  write  to  ask  for  them.  I  thank  you  very  much  for 
the  good  and  valuable  books  that  you  have  given  me  by  this 
and  before  this,  and  look  upon  them  as  a  fair  retribution.  .  .  . 

I  have  written  to  Mrs.  Howitt,  according  to.  your  first 
letter,  to  ask  her  to  send  you  the  printed  sheets  of  her  trans- 
lation; but  it  seems  that  she  is  not  free  to  do  it,  as  Messrs. 
Chapman,  Hall  &  Virtue  pay  her  for  the  translation.  It  is 
also,  if  I  understand  it  right,  with  these  gentlemen  that  you 
must  make  arrangements  if  you  wish  to  have  Mrs.  Howitt's 
translation,  which  certainly  will  be  the  very  best  translation 
possible  to  be  had,  and  greatly  favourable  to  your  publication. 
Then,  though  she  makes  occasional  mistakes,  her  style  is  full 
of  life,  and  her  genial  mind  shows  itself  even  in  the  translation ; 
and  the  knowledge  which  she  has  now  gained  of  the  Swedish 
language  will  make  her  less  subject  than  ever  to  mistakes; 
and  Mr.  Howitt,  being  now  at  home,  will  be  able  to  correct 
these.     My  advice  is,  therefore,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  should 


408  George  Palmer  Putnam 

write  to  Messrs.  Virtue  &  Hall,  and  make  them  propositions 
about  the  translation,  and  to  enable  you  to  compete  in  these 
with  the  Harpers,  you  shall  owe  me  nothing,  and  I  will  write 
for  your  publication  a  special  introduction,  as  I  want  to  dedi- 
cate the  book  to  the  memory  of  my  friend  A.  J.  Downing; 
so  that  your  publication  will  be  sure  to  have  a  good  run  in 
America.  I  have  written  to  Messrs.  Virtue  &  Hall  how 
much  I  want  you  to  publish  this  book,  asking  them  to  let  you 
have  it  on  the  best  possible  terms.  .  .  . 

As  the  book  has  been  much  detained  (by  various  causes), 
and  is  not  yet  finished,  I  have  but  last  week  sent  to  Mrs. 
Howitt  the  first  sheet  (printed)  for  translation,  so  that  you 
will  be  in  good  time  to  have  the  printed  sheets  from  England 
for  your  publication,  and  be  able  to  keep  ahead  with  the 
English  publishers. 

I  shall  take  a  special  delight  in  the  dedication  and  introduc- 
tion ;  and  all  I  ask  of  you  is,  to  write  to  me  and  tell  me  how  the 
affair  has  succeeded,  and  how  you  are  satisfied.  As  soon  as 
I  have  your  answer  and  approbation  of  the  course  I  have  sug- 
gested, I  shall  sit  down  and  write  what  I  have  promised,  and 
immediately  send  it  to  you.     I  remain,  my  dear  sir,  yours 

faithfully, 

Fredrika  Bremer. 


Mr.  Halleck  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  our  "bookstore"  in 
Broadway,  always  with  the  same  sunny  smile  and  courteous 
greeting,  and  always  ready  with  his  pleasant  chat  about  books, 
authors,  politics,  theology,  metaphysics,  or  aesthetics. 

Whether  he  was  a  Romanist  or  not,  at  that  time,  he  used, 
perhaps  just  for  the  sake  of  argument,  to  defend  the  chief 
"Catholic"  tenets,  and  I  remember  his  apparently  earnest 
exposition  of  the  necessity  of  worshipping  the  Virgin  as  the 
Mother  of  God.  His  conversion  to  Catholicism  we  never 
doubted  at  the  time,  and  it  was  frequently  referred  to  by 
visitors ;  but  as  Halleck  was  rather  fond  of  paradoxes,  he  may 
possibly  have  intended  merely  to  puzzle  his  listeners. 

At  the  notable  dinner  to  authors,  given  by  the  New  York 


A  Publisher's  Letter  BooK  4°9 

booksellers  at  the  old  City  Hotel,  in  1837,  Halleck  was  of 
course  in  one  of  the  places  of  honour ;  and  Irving  in  his  single 
successful  dinner-speech  quoted  a  letter  from  Rogers  compli- 
mentary to  the  author  of  Marco  Bozzaris,  and  gracefully  turned 
the  current  of  courtesies  to  the  speechless  poet. 

The  courtly  Philip  Hone  also  managed  to  hit  the  genial 
"Croaker"  with  his  sugar-plums,  and  Halleck  often  referred 
afterward  to  the  overwhelming  laurels  forced  on  his  modest 
brow. 

The  letter  annexed  is  his  response  to  an  extra  invitation 
to  the  Fruit  Festival  to  Authors  at  the  New  York  Crystal 
Palace,  in  1853. 

Genial,  interesting,  and  fluent  as  he  was  in  conversation, 
he  could  say  nothing  in  public,  and  his  dread  of  being  called 
upon  even  for  a  word,  prompted  refusal  of  all  such  invitations. 

In  his  later  days,  I  used  to  meet  him  occasionally  in  Broad- 
way, when  he  came  to  town ;  and  he  seemed  to  enjoy  a  short 
chat  even  on  the  sidewalk,  and  to  be  glad  of  a  listener ;  but  his 
growing  deafness  was  his  excuse  for  refusing  all  enticements 
where  more  than  two  or  three  were  present.  He  had  been  a 
valued  member  of  the  "  Century,"  and  a  frequent  visitor  there.; 
but  this  infirmity  made  him  shrink  from  all  assemblies  even 
in  this  favourite  haunt. 

Guilford,  Connecticut,  September  19,  1853. 

My  dear  Sir:  I  feel  highly  flattered  by  the  renewed  ex- 
pression of  your  kind  wishes,  more  particularly  as  you  are 
aware  that  I  have  no  talent,  either  as  a  hearer  or  speaker, 
that  can  aid  your  good  cause,  or  make  my  presence  or  absence 
noticed  on  such  an  occasion. 

Believe  me,  I  am  as  anxious  to  enjoy  your  hospitality  as  you 
in  your  large  benevolence  are  to  bestow  it. 

I  very  reluctantly  wrote  you  my  unsatisfactory  note,  and 
fear  that  I  cannot  make  this  much  less  so ;  but  I  hasten  to  as- 
sure you  that,  if  it  be  possible  for  me  to  escape  from  my  present 
engagements,  I  will  do  my  utmost  to  be  with  you. 

I  remain,  my  dear  sir,  most  truly  yours, 

Fitz-Greene  Halleck. 


410  George  Palmer  Putnam 

When  Mr.  McLane  was  a  second  time  Minister  to  England, 
I  was  honoured  with  some  intimacy  with  his  amiable  family 
at  the  Legation  and  at  Knickerbocker  Cottage.  Mr.  Irving, 
who  had  been  Secretary  of  Legation  with  Mr.  McLane  at  the 
same  post  in  1830,  and  was  now  Minister  to  Spain,  visited  his 
old  friend  when  he  came  to  London,  about  the  time  the  Oregon 
question  was  most  hotly  discussed.  During  Mr.  McLane's 
visit  to  Paris,  when  this  negotiation  was  in  the  most  delicate 
condition  and  a  war  seemed  to  many  inevitable,  I  was 
told  that  the  Minister  was  invited  by  Lord  Aberdeen  to 
a  formal  diplomatic  dinner,  given  to  the  leading  foreign 
ministers.  In  his  absence,  the  Secretary,  Mr.  M ,  ap- 
peared in  his  place.  Replying  to  a  formal  toast,  "The 
President  of  the  United  States,"  the  Secretary  electrified  the 
diplomatic  circle  by  a  Tammany  speech,  winding  up  some- 
what thus :  "  I  was  one  who  helped  to  place  Mr.  Polk  where  he 
now  is,  and  I  know  that  he  will  not  dare  to  recede   from 

544o!" 

The  late  Archbishop  Hughes  (then  only  Bishop)  was  the 
chief  guest  at  a  breakfast  given  by  the  Secretary  soon 
after.  I  was  much  impressed  with  his  mildly  dignified  and 
genial  manner,  so  different  was  it  from  previous  notions  of 
this  energetic  prelate. 

In  order  to  dispense  a  little  sound  information  on  the  Oregon 
question,  which  had  become  the  exciting  topic  of  the  day,  I 
proposed  to  the  Minister  to  print  the  documents  for  general 
circulation.     His  reply  is  annexed. 

December  30,  1845. 

Dear  Sir:  Being  engaged  out  last  evening,  I  was  not  able 
to  attend  to  your  note  earlier. 

All  the  documents  relating  to  the  Oregon  question — at  least 
all  that  are  any  way  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  the 
subject — are  contained  in  the  Times  newspaper  of  yesterday. 
Among  them  you  will  find  not  only  the  letters  of  Mr.  Calhoun, 
but  those  of  Mr.  Buchanan  also ;  and  after  reading  them,  you 
can  well  form  a  judgment  which  to  select  for  publication,  or 
whether  to  publish  the  whole.     The  whole  would  be  best, 


A  Publisher's  Letter  Booh  411 

unless  you  should  find  them  too  voluminous  for  the  bulk  of 
your  pamphlet. 

Believe  me  to  be,  dear  sir,  with  great  respect, 

Louis  McLane. 

Our  advertisement  in  the  London  Times  of  some  American 
publications  was  noticed  by  an  old  gentleman,  who  seemed  to 
be  curious  about  the  name  of  the  advertiser.  His  name  was 
Sir  Frederick  Robinson,  and  it  appeared  that  he  was  a  general 
in  the  British  army;  that  he  was  now  ninety-five  years  old; 
that  he  had  been  an  officer  in  the  British  army  during  our 
Revolution,  and  had  been  taken  prisoner  on  the  Hudson  by 
General  Putnam,  in  whose  custody  he  remained  for  some  time, 
and  for  whom,  as  he  wrote  in  one  of  his  notes  to  me,  he  "had 
learned  to  cherish  great  respect,"  which  gave  him  a  special 
interest  in  the  General's  descendants.  It  was  a  pleasant  in- 
cident,— this  little  connecting  link  with  a  former  generation. 
The  old  General  wrote  several  notes,  in  which  he  seemed  glad 
to  recall  memories  of  our  great  struggle  and  of  his  rough  old 
captor;  but  I  can  now  find  only  this: 

33  Bedford  Square,  Brighton, 
August  11,  1845. 

The  descendants  of  General  Putnam  and  all  his  well-wishers 
will  find  many  very  satisfactory  passages  in  Stedman's  History 
of  the  Revolutionary  War,  particularly  in  the  first  volume. 

Sir  Frederick  Robinson  has  very  great  pleasure  in  communi- 
cating the  above  to  Mr.  P . 


WILLIS'S  ROOMS, 
King  Street,  St.  James's. 
Mr.  THACKERAY'S  LECTURES 
On  the  English  Humourists  of  the  18th  Century. 


MR.  THACKERAY 

will  deliver  a  series  of  Six  Lectures,  on 

"The  English  Humourists  of  the  18th  Century 

Their   Lives   and   Writings,    their   Friends 

and  Associates." 


412  George  Palmer  Putnam 

The  course  will  contain  notices  of  Swift,  Pope,  and  Gay, 
Addison,  Steele,  and  Congreve,  Fielding  and  Hogarth,  Smol- 
lett, Sterne,  and  Goldsmith. 

The  First  Lecture  will  be  given  on  Thursday  Morning,  May 
22d.  To  be  continued  each  succeeding  Thursday.  Com- 
mencing at  Three  o'clock. 


Tickets  for  the  Course  of  Six  Lectures  £2  2s. ;  for  which  the 
seats  will  be  numbered  and  reserved.  Single  Tickets,  7s.  6d. 
Family  Tickets,  to  admit  four,  21s.  Which  may  be  secured 
at  Mr.  Mitchel's  Royal  Library,  33  Old  Bond  Street,  &c. 


This  course  of  lectures,  given  during  the  great  Exhibition 
of  1 85 1,  at  the  "fashionable"  rooms  of  "Almack's,"  was  at- 
tended by  a  brilliant  audience.  The  most  notable  of  the  ari- 
stocracy both  of  birth  and  of  intellect  were  eager  listeners. 
Macaulay,  Bulwer,  and  scores  of  the  poets  and  novelists  were 
sprinkled  among  the  dukes  and  duchesses;  the  stairs  were 
lined  with  liveried  "Jeameses,"  and  Jermyn  Street  was  com- 
pletely blocked  with  lordly  equipages.  What  specially  amused 
an  American  was  the  apparently  indifferent  and  nonchalant 
coolness  of  the  lecturer:  he  seemed  less  deferential  and  more 
completely  at  his  ease  than  when  he  repeated  the  same  course 
to  a  republican  audience  at  Dr.  Chapin's  church,  in  Broadway. 

While  I  was  living  at  Yonkers,  Mr.  Thackeray  accepted  an 
invitation  to  give  his  lecture  on  "Charity  and  Humour"  at 
the  Lyceum  at  that  place.  In  the  morning  the  great  novelist, 
with  Mr.  F.  S.  Cozzens  and  myself,  drove  up  to  Sunnyside  to 
call  on  Mr.  Irving,  and  to  bring  him  down  to  the  lecture. 
The  hour  passed  at  Sunnyside  was  delicious,  for  the  talk  of 
the  two  humourists  was  free,  cordial,  and  interesting;  even 
more  so  than  at  Mr.  "  Sparrowgrass's "  dinner-party  later  in 
the  day.  At  the  lecture,  the  Lyceum  President  was  over- 
whelming in  his  introduction  of  the  author  of  Vanity  Fair, 
who  fairly  blushed  under  the  eulogiums  heaped  upon  him; 
but  he  had  the  good  taste  to  make  no  reference  to  these,  or 
to  the  living  representative  of  the  theme  of  his  discourse, 
who  sat  before  him  as  a  listener. 


A  Publisher's  Letter  Booh  413 

At  one  of  the  little  gatherings  of  book-men,  editors,  and 
artists  at  my  house  in  New  York,  Mr.  Thackeray  was  talking 
with  a  lady,  when  Dr.  Rufus  W.  Griswold  came  up  and  asked 
me  to  introduce  him,  which  of  course  was  done.  Thackeray 
bowed  slightly,  and  went  on  talking  to  the  lady.  Presently, 
the  Doctor  having  slipped  away  for  the  moment,  the  novelist 
said  to  me,  inquiringly,  "That  's  Rufus,  is  it?"  "Yes — that  's 
he."  "He's  been  abusing  me  in  the  Herald"  pursued  the 
satirist.  "I've  a  mind  to  charge  him  with  it."  "By  all 
means,"  I  replied;  "if  you  are  sure  he  did  it."  "Positive." 
So  he  stalked  across  to  the  corner  where  Griswold  stood,  and 
I  observed  him  looking  down  from  his  six-foot  elevation  on  to 
the  Doctor's  bald  head  and  glaring  at  him  in  half-earnest 
anger  through  his  glasses,  while  he  pummelled  him  with  his 
charge  of  the  Herald  articles.  The  Doctor,  after  a  while, 
escaping,  quoted  him  thus:  "Thackeray  came  and  said  to 
me:  'Doctor,  you  've  been  writing  ugly  things  about  me  in 
the  Herald — you  called  me  a  snob  ;  do  I  look  like  a  snob?  '  and 
he  drew  himself  up  and  looked  thunder-gusts  at  me.  Now 
I  didn't  write  those  articles."  "Yes,  but  he  did,  though," 
said  the  big  satirist,  when  I  quoted  to  him  this  denial ;  and  so 
he  persisted  in  saying,  weeks  after,  at  the  Century. 

Clarendon  Hotel,  New  York, 

November  27,  1852. 

Dear   Sir:     Messrs. ,  who   have  published  my  larger 

books  and  have  paid  my  London  publisher  for  my  last  work, 
have  offered  me  a  sum  of  money  for  the  republication  of  my 
lectures;  and,  all  things  considered,  I  think  it  is  best  that  I 
should  accept  their  liberal  proposal.  I  thank  you  very  much 
for  your  very  generous  offer ;  and  for  my  own  sake,  as  well  as 
that  of  my  literary  brethren  in  England,  I  am  sincerely  re- 
joiced to  find  how  very  kindly  the  American  publishers  are 
disposed  towards  us. 

Believe  me  most  faithfully  yours, 

W.  M.  Thackeray. 


CHAPTER  XX 
A.  Venture  -witH  Japan 

IN  1867,  there  came  to  my  father  a  business  opportunity 
such  as  he  had  not  frequently  been  favoured  with,  and 
which  gave  fair  promise  of  very  large  and  continued 
returns.  It  really  seemed  as  if  in  this  second  stage  of  his 
business  career,  he  was  going  to  make  a  fortune.  The 
fortune  this  time  was  lost,  or  rather  failed  to  be  made, 
through  no  error  of  judgment  of  his  own,  but  from  com- 
plications entirely  outside  of  the  control  of  the  American 
publisher. 

The  Empire  of  Japan  had  for  a  series  of  years,  in  fact 
since  the  time  of  Commodore  Perry's  expedition  in  1853, 
been  giving  consideration  to  the  question  of  securing  for 
the  growing  generations  an  education  that  should  be  on  a 
par  with  that  of  the  other  enterprising  nations  of  the 
civilised  world.  During  the  ten  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding 1867,  the  authorities  in  charge  of  the  educational 
system  of  the  Empire  had  carried  on  a  series  of  experi- 
ments in  a  very  practical  way.  They  had  sent  groups  of 
higher-class  pupils,  selected  partly  on  the  ground  of  their 
families,  but  in  the  end,  if  I  remember  rightly,  by  com- 
petitive examinations,  to  carry  on  their  studies  in  the 
educational  centres  of  the  several  nations  with  which 
Japan  had  come  i  to  relations.  Such  groups  of  Japanese 
were  studying  during  this  decade  in  Leyden,  in  Berlin,  in 

414 


A  Venture  witH  Japan  4J5 

Paris,  in  two  or  three  centres  in  England,  and  in  several 
of  the  university  towns  of  the  United  States.     They  had 
gone   accredited   to   leading   educators   with   whom   the 
Japanese   Government   had   come   into   correspondence. 
They  were  charged  with  the  task  not  only  of  mastering 
the  language  of  the  countries  adopted  for  their  education, 
but  also  of  carrying  on  in  the  foreign  language  the  studies 
which  had  been  selected  as  the  most  effective  for  the 
desired  test.     As  these  pupils  returned  to  Tokio,  they 
were  instructed  to  bring  with  them  specimens  of  the  text- 
books that  they  had  been  utilising  in  their  higher-grade 
work,  and  also  selections  from  those  that  were  in  use  for 
the  high  schools  and  common  schools.     A  careful  examina- 
tion was  made  as  to  the  difficulties  with  which  capable 
Japanese  students  had  had  to  contend  in  mastering  the 
languages  and  in  coming  to  an  understanding  of  the  text- 
books of   these   different   countries.     Some   experiments 
were  also  made  in  the  work  of  producing  Japanese  versions 
of  German,  French,  English,  and  Dutch  text-books.     It 
was  finally  dec  ded  that  it  would  be  easier  for  the  educa- 
tional work  requ'red  to  utilise  for  text-book  purposes  a 
foreign  language   than   to   attempt   to   secure  Japanese 
versions  of  books  containing  a  long  series  of  foreign  terms 
for  which  there  were  no  accurate  Japanese  equivalents. 
It  was  further  decided,  after  a  very  careful  comparison 
of  the  different  national  series  of  text-books,  and  also  of 
the  experiences  of  the  students,  that  the  English  language 
was  better  suited  for  the  requirements  than  the  French, 
German,  or  Dutch.     The  Dutch  language  was,  by  the 
way,  the  first  European  tongue  with  which  the  Japanese 
had  become  acquainted.     The  final  comparison  was  made 
between  English  and  American  text-books,  and  in  this  the 
preference  was  given  to  the  books  produced  in  the  United 
States.     The  Minister  of  Public  Education,  Ono  Tomo- 
goro,   with  one   or   more    interpreters    and    a    staff    of 


416  George  Palmer  Putnam 

assistants,  decided,  in  1867,  himself  to  make  a  journey  to 
the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  series  of 
American  text-books  for  the  Japanese  schools,  and  at  the 
same  time  of  familiarising  himself  with  American  edu- 
cational methods.  He  brought  letters  of  introduction 
from  the  Tycoon's  Minister  of  State  to  the  President 
(Johnson)  and  to  Mr.  Seward,  who  was  then  Secretary  of 
State.  He  also  naturally  took  counsel  with  the  Japanese 
Ambassador  in  Washington,  Arinori  Mori,  who  was  a 
scholarly  and  wide-minded  statesman.  Ambassador  Mori 
had  become  known  to  my  father  through  Mr.  Seward,  and 
had  had  occasion  to  ask  some  little  service  of  my  father  in 
connection  with  the  printing  of  a  memorial  or  monograph 
which  Mori  had  prepared  on  the  subject  of  national 
religious  toleration.  In  this  monograph,  the  Japanese 
scholar  took  the  highest  possible  ground  in  behalf  of  free- 
dom of  religious  belief,  and  contended  that  the  only  re- 
sponsibility that  rested  upon  the  national  Government 
was  to  secure  and  to  protect  all  groups  of  its  citizens  in 
the  exercise  of  such  freedom.  The  paper  had  been  pre- 
pared to  influence  public  opinion  in  Japan,  and  was,  in 
fact,  submitted  as  a  memorial  to  the  Tycoon's  Govern- 
ment. It  was  originally  written,  therefore,  in  Japanese, 
but  the  version  submitted  to  my  father  was  in  English. 
The  English  was  not  merely  good  but  eloquent,  while  the 
memorial  itself  gave  evidence  of  a  very  full  knowledge  of 
the  history  of  religious  belief  and  of  an  exceptionally  clear 
understanding  of  the  great  issues  in  the  world's  history 
around  which  have  been  fought  the  questions  of  religious 
toleration.  My  father's  aid  had  been  asked  for  the  pur- 
pose of  revising  the  English  text  in  so  far  as  this  might 
call  for  revision.  He  found  occasion  for  but  inconsider- 
able and  unimportant  suggestions.  The  commission  was, 
however,  a  means  of  bringing  the  two  men  together,  and 
my  father  had  come  to  have  for  the  Japanese  Minister  a 


A.  Venture  -witH  Japan  417 

very  cordial  regard.  Mori's  career  was,  unfortunately, 
cut  short  at  too  early  a  period  to  enable  him  to  render  to 
his  country  the  full  service  of  his  exceptional  abilities  and 
of  his  high  standard  of  public  spirit.  The  immediate 
result  of  the  submitting  of  his  memorial  was  his  recall  to 
Japan  under  partial  disgrace.  His  resignation  from  the 
diplomatic  service  was  accepted,  and  he  retired  for  a  year 
or  two  to  his  country  estate.  Later,  however,  he  was 
recalled  from  his  retirement,  and  was  given  the  highest 
diplomatic  post  in  the  service  of  the  Government,  that  of 
Ambassador  to  Pekin.  He  remained  there  for  two  years, 
and  then,  returning  to  Tokio,  accepted  the  position  of 
Minister  of  Public  Worship.  His  appointment  brought 
out  a  good  deal  of  protest  and  antagonism  on  the  part  of 
the  very  considerable  faction  in  Japan  which  continued 
opposed  to  foreign  influence  and  to  reform  ideas.  The 
history  of  Mori's  memorial  was  recalled,  and  he  was 
accused  of  being  a  traitor  to  the  national  faith,  and  an 
iconoclast.  He  had  in  fact,  proceeded  with  all  possible 
conservatism  in  the  work  of  bringing  to  bear  his  reform 
ideas  on  education  and  on  the  supervision  of  religion,  but 
the  fanatics  looked  upon  him  not  only  with  suspicion,  but 
with  indignation.  One  of  these  members  of  the  old  Japan 
party  was  sufficiently  fanatical  to  sacrifice  his  own  life 
for  what  he  believed  to  be  the  maintenance  of  the  old  faith. 
He  assassinated  Mori  while  the  latter  was  leaving  one  of 
the  temples.  The  assassin  made  no  attempt  to  escape, 
and  was  promptly  executed. 

My  father's  personal  relations  with  the  Japanese 
Minister  and  his  old-time  friendship  with  Mr.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State,  caused  him  to  be  recommended  to  Ono 
Tomogoro  as  the  best  man  to  advise  him  in  the  matter  of  the 
formation  of  a  text-book  system  and  in  the  selection  of  the 
books  themselves.  The  Minister  called  at  our  office  in 
Broadway  with  his  letters,  an  aid,  and  an  interpreter. 


418  George  Palmer  Putnam 

My  father  had  received  from  Washington  notice  of  his 
coming  and  was,  therefore,  to  some  extent  prepared  for 
the  commission.  The  errand  was  explained,  and  the 
interpreter  was  instructed  to  make  clear  to  the  American 
publisher  that  the  matter  was  one  of  considerable  import- 
ance. The  Minister  wanted  to  take  back  with  him,  or  to 
have  sent  by  the  following  steamer,  what  he  called  a  series 
of  samples  of  the  text-books,  after  the  scheme  or  sugges- 
tions submitted  had  received  his  approval.  He  then 
wanted  to  execute  a  contract  with  the  House  recommended 
to  him  (in  this  case  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Son)  for  the  purchase 
from  quarter  to  quarter  or  from  half-year  to  half-year  of 
such  supplies  of  books  as  would  be  required  for  the  high 
schools  and  the  common  schools  of  a  nation  of  thirty 
millions  of  people.  I  remember  particularly  one  remark 
made  by  the  Minister  which,  while  uttered  in  perfectly 
good  faith,  proved,  unfortunately,  not  to  be  well  founded. 

You  will  understand,  Mr.  Putnam,  that  in  your  relations 
with  the  Japanese  Government,  you  will  be  dealing  with  a 
stable  and  permanent  customer.  If  these  preliminary  trans- 
actions prove  satisfactory  (and  from  the  reports  of  your  Sec- 
retary of  State  and  of  my  own  friend,  Mr.  Mori,  I  have  very 
full  confidence  on  this  point) ,  the  business  will  continue  in  your 
hands  and  in  those  of  your  equally  worthy  successors,  for  an 
indefinite  period  of  years.  ...  I  have  [continued  the  Minister] 
been  a  student  of  history.  I  find  that  not  only  in  Europe  but 
in  your  own  country  there  have  occurred  from  time  to  time 
series  of  wars  and  disturbances  through  which  governments 
are  overthrown  and  national  policies  are  revolutionised.  In 
Japan,  also,  we  have  changes;  my  present  mission  is,  in  fact, 
itself  an  instance  of  a  very  noteworthy  change  in  our  national 
policy.  But  we  proceed  in  an  ordinary  and  evolutionary 
fashion.  Our  Government  is  permanently  organised,  and 
retains  in  its  own  hands  the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Empire.  Why  [he  continued],  there  has  been  no  fighting 
within  the  territory   of  Japan  for  a  term  of  three  centuries. 


.A.  Venture  -witH  Japan  419 

You  can,  therefore,  have  every  confidence  in  the  permanence 
of  your  business  relations  with  this  particular  client. 

This  little  address,  which  was  in  substance,  if  not  in  exact 
words,  as  quoted  above,  was  set  forth  sentence  by  sentence 
by  the  interpreter.  The  Minister  veiled  himself  behind  an 
assumed  ignorance  of  the  English  language,  at  least  for 
conversational  purposes.  We  found  afterwards,  however, 
that  he  understood  perfectly  all  that  was  going  on,  and  he 
was  probably  as  well  able  to  speak  as  to  understand.  His 
expressive  little  eyes  sparkled  from  time  to  time  with  full 
comprehension  of  remarks  made  in  his  hearing. 

My  father  gave,  in  company  with  myself  and  one  or 
two  other  assistants,  a  fortnight's  time  to  working  up  the 
scheme  required  for  the  text-books.  As  soon  as  some 
knowledge  leaked  out  among  the  educational  publishers 
of  the  nature  of  the  business  of  our  Japanese  visitor,  we 
were  naturally  enough  beset  with  offers  of  lines  of  school- 
books,  and  with  very  liberal  suggestions  concerning  the 
commissions  that  would  be  paid  to  our  House  on  the  sales 
of  any  American  books  of  which  we  might  secure  the 
introduction.  It  is  probable  (in  accordance  with  the  very 
frequent  routine  of  trade)  that  the  size  of  the  commissions 
offered  was  in  inverse  proportion  to  the  actual  value  of  the 
books  or  to  their  relative  value  for  the  particular  require- 
ments. In  any  case,  my  father's  selections  were  arrived 
at  entirely  irrespective  of  the  relative  margin  of  profit  to 
the  Putnams  on  one  book  or  another.  He  gave  pains 
simply  to  the  preparation  of  a  scheme  which  should  pre- 
sent for  Japanese  schoolboys  the  most  practical  and  most 
effective  system  of  common-school  education  in  the 
several  branches  indicated  in  the  Minister's  instructions. 
The  tentative  contracts  for  the  books  selected  were  made 
with  the  most  responsible  educational  book  publishers  in 
the  country.  The  scheme  was  submitted  to  Ono  Tomo- 
goro,  and  was  promptly  approved,  and  sample  lots  of  the 


420  George  Palmer  Putnam 

books  were  ordered,  amounting  in  value  to  about  $20,000. 
These  first  lots  were  promptly  packed  and  started  for 
Japan  a  few  days  after  the  departure  of  the  Minister. 
The  books  were  never  seen  by  either  the  Minister  or  his 
assistants,  but  on  the  presentation  of  the  invoices  we 
received  drafts  on  London  for  the  full  amount  of  our 
account. 

The  beginning  of  business  with  a  "permanent  customer" 
of  this  importance  certainly  seemed  in  every  way  pro- 
mising. If  the  commissioner's  calculations  could  be 
depended  upon,  our  annual  orders  were  going  to  amount 
to  a  million  dollars  or  more,  amounts  which  would  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  have  left  for  the  Putnam  firm  a  sub- 
stantial fortune.  In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks'  time,  a 
representative  of  the  firm  started  for  Japan,  by  way  of 
San  Francisco,  to  receive  the  first  series  of  orders,  and  to 
put  into  train  in  Yokohama  and  in  Tokio  the  necessary 
machinery  under  which  future  orders  would  be  cared  for. 
He  reached  Yokohama  a  few  weeks  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  rebellion  against  the  Government  of  the  Tycoon,  a 
rebellion  which  was  instigated  and  carried  on  in  the  name 
of  the  defenders  of  the  Mikado.  The  latter  was,  as  is,  of 
course,  made  clear  in  Japanese  history,  the  titular  head  of 
the  Government ;  but  for  a  term  of  a  century  or  more  (I 
am  not  taking  time  at  this  moment  to  look  up  the  precise 
dates),  the  Mikado  had  been  relegated  to  seclusion,  and 
his  responsibilities  were  apparently  restricted  to  the  head- 
ship of  the  ecclesiastical  organisation.  The  actual  man- 
agement of  the  affairs  of  the  state  had,  a  century  or  more 
earlier,  been  taken  over  by  the  Tycoon,  who,  originally 
merely  a  mayor  of  the  palace,  had  become  the  virtual  ruler 
of  the  Empire.  The  reform  measures,  including  the 
extension  of  relations  with  foreign  states,  the  introduc- 
tion of  foreigners  as  instructors,  the  permission  of  foreign 
merchants  to  extend  their  trading  posts  and  to  establish 


A  Venture  witH  Japan  421 

themselves  in  inland  cities  from  which  they  had  heretofore 
been  barred  out,  had  all  been  carried  out  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Tycoon  and  his  advisers.     The  party  of  old 
Japan,  with  a  cordial  antagonism  to  foreign  ideas  and  to 
foreigners  themselves,  instigated  this  rebellion  with  the 
purpose  of  re-establishing  the  actual  power  of  the  Mikado. 
The  rebellion  became  a  revolution,  and  in  its  immediate 
purpose,  after  a  struggle  lasting  for  three  years  or  more, 
proved  successful .   The  Tycoon  was  relegated  to  ob  scurity . 
His  advisers  and  the  leaders   who   had  fought   for  him 
were  in  part  killed,  in  part  permitted  to  commit  hara-kiri, 
and  in  part  pardoned  and  accepted  by  the  new  Govern- 
ment.    While  a  new  group  of  men  came  thus  into  the 
control  of  affairs,  the  movement  towards  an  extension  of 
the  relations  of  Japan  with  the  outside  world  proved  too 
strong  to  be  resisted.     After  a  resting  spell  of  a  year  or 
more,  a  series  of  enactments  were  issued  conceding  to  the 
foreigners  practically  all  that  had  been  planned  at  the 
time  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Tycoon.     Among  the  changes 
which  were  put  into  force  were  certain  measures  relating 
to  the  school  system  and  providing  for  the  organisation  of 
a  central  educational  institution  or  university,  the  chief 
direction  of  which  was  for  many  years  in  the  hands  of 
foreign  instructors,  largely  American.     The  plan,  however, 
for  utilising  American  text-books,  or  any  text-books  in 
foreign  languages,  was,  for  the  most  part,  given  up.     The 
use  of  a  foreign  language  for  educational  purposes  was 
restricted  to  works  in  higher  technical  science  and  in  a 
few  other  divisions  of  instruction.     With  a  rapidity  that, 
considering  the  obstacles,   was  certainly  noteworthy,  a 
great  series  of  common-school  text-books  in  the  Japanese 
language  was  produced  and  put  into  use  in  the  schools. 
In  some  way  or  other,  the  original  difficulty  of  the  lack  of 
equivalent  terms  was  overcome. 

Our  representative  learned,  on  landing  in  Yokohama, 


422  George  Palmer  Putnam 

that  all  foreigners  had  already  been  expelled  from  Tokio. 
Trusting,  however,  to  his  introductions  (he  had  with  him 
letters  of  commendation  left  for  the  purpose  by  Ono 
Tomogoro  and  other  letters  from  Mori  and  from  Secretary 
Seward) ,  he  took  the  risk  of  making  his  way  (in  the  face  of 
rather  peremptory  prohibitions)  to  the  capital  and 
remained  there  for  some  weeks.  He  found  in  the  Tokio 
custom-house  the  cases  containing  our  books,  just  as  they 
had  been  shipped.  The  cases  had  not  been  opened,  and, 
in  fact,  the  officials  who  were  responsible  for  receiving 
them  had  already  fled  or  were  out  of  office.  As  far  as 
our  relations  with  the  Japanese  Government  were  con- 
cerned, we  should  apparently  have  been  quite  safe  if  we 
had  rilled  the  cases  with  bricks  instead  of  books.  He  was 
informed  that  two  or  three  of  the  higher  officials  who  were 
named  in  his  letters  had  already  committed  hara-kiri, 
and  were,  therefore,  not  available  for  his  purposes.  After 
waiting  a  week  or  two  in  the  capital,  he  was  compelled  to 
return  to  Yokohama.  There  he  delayed  for  some  little 
time  in  the  hope  that  the  rebellion  would  prove  to  be  but  a 
temporary  outbreak.  When  it  became  certain  that  the 
Tycoon's  Government  was  overthrown  and  that  the  civil 
war  was  likely  to  persist  not  only  for  months  but  for  years, 
there  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  return  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  to  New  York.  If  the  rebellion  could  have  held 
off  for  three  years,  we  could  have  made  out  of  Japanese 
school-books  a  legitimate  fortune.  It  seemed  rather  a 
pity,  after  the  islanders  had  kept  peace  for  three  centuries, 
that  they  should  choose  this  particular  time  for  readjusting 
their  government. 

After  the  return  of  our  representative  to  New  York, 
one  of  the  Daimios,  or  provincial  princes,  initiated  corre- 
spondence concerning  certain  supplies  of  books  required 
for  his  own  principality.  This  Daimio  was  an  adherent 
of  the  party  of  the  Tycoon.     His  principality  covered 


.A.  "Venture  witH  Japan  423 

some  islands  and  a  portion  of  the  mainland  in  the  south, 
and  after  the  Tycoon's  main  armies  had  been  defeated, 
the  Daimio  kept  up  some  contest  (the  Mikado's  party 
naturally  called  it  rebellion)  on  his  own  account  for  about 
three  years.  There  were,  I  think,  a  few  other  Daimios 
whose  territory  was  easier  to  defend,  who  also  maintained, 
for  some  considerable  time,  resistance  against  the  authority 
of  the  representatives  of  the  Mikado.  In  the  end,  some 
terms  were  arrived  at  under  which,  without  actually  being 
overcome,  the  southern  Daimio  accepted  the  new  order 
of  things  and  disarmed  his  forces.  During  this  time  of 
independent  action,  he  remained  a  customer  of  our  House 
in  New  York.  Our  name  had  possibly  been  given  to  him 
by  Mori,  but  a  member  of  his  own  local  government  had, 
I  think,  been  on  the  staff  of  Tomogoro. 

The  orders  to  us  during  these  two  or  three  years  covered 
chiefly  supplies  of  American  text-books,  but  not  exclusively 
of  those  that  had  been  specified  in  the  original  selections. 
Jn  addition  to  these  common-school  supplies,  the  orders 
called  for  a  number  of  books  for  higher-grade  classes,  and 
I  suppose  that  the  Daimio  must  have  instituted  in  his  own 
capital  something  in  the  shape  of  collegiate  work.  I 
remember  among  other  works  supplies  of  Watts  on  the 
Mind,  Paley's  Moral  Philosophy,  etc. 

The  Daimio  employed  during  his  campaigns  the  services 
of  a  number  of  Americans  and  other  foreigners  having 
knowledge  of  army  organisation  and  military  practice. 
Under  the  suggestions  of  these  advisers,  he  included  in  his 
orders  for  books  works  on  artillery  practice,  infantry  and 
cavalry  drill,  bridge-building,  etc.  Finally,  in  connection, 
I  believe,  with  illness  among  his  troops,  and  under  some 
counsel  that  was  evidently  not  that  of  a  regular  practi- 
tioner, he  found  occasion  for  supplies  of  patent  medicines, 
the  orders  for  which  were  jumbled  in  with  the  lists  of  moral 
philosophy  and  infantry  tactics.     I  remember,  after  the 


424  George  Palmer  Putnam 

arrival  of  one  Japanese  order,  my  father  giving  me  a  note 
to  John  F.  Henry,  who  was  the  head  of  one  of  the  large 
patent  medicine  houses  in  the  city.  He  requested  Mr. 
Henry  to  give  his  personal  attention  to  the  selection  of 
medicines  amounting  in  value  to  one  hundred  pounds 
sterling,  and  kindly  to  see  that  we  secured  for  our  Japanese 
clients  full  value.  The  medicines  naturally  came  to  us 
packed  for  shipment,  and  we  never  knew  how  much  advant- 
age (or  the  reverse)  came  to  our  Japanese  friends  from 
this  particular  outlay. 

When  our  Daimio's  rebellion  had  been  overcome,  his 
business  correspondence  with  our  House  came  to  an  end. 
I  imagine  that  his  school  system  must  have  been  assimil- 
ated with  that  of  the  Empire  as  a  whole.  Since  that  date, 
increasing  numbers  of  American  works  in  higher  education 
have  found  their  way  into  Japan,  but  the  heads  of  colleges 
or  of  educational  departments  and  the  Japanese  dealers 
have  found  it  to  their  advantage  to  place  these  orders 
directly  with  the  American  publishers.  The  common- 
school  books  are,  as  explained,  now  written  in  the  Japanese 
language  and  are  manufactured  in  Japan. 

For  a  series  of  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Mikado,  the  printer-publishers  of  Japan 
carried  on  a  satisfactory  business  in  reprinting  American 
and  European  books  that  had  been  found  suited  for  the 
requirements  of  the  Japanese  schools,  and  the  larger 
portion  of  the  text-books  and  works  of  reference  so  appro- 
priated originated  in  the  United  States.  The  shrewd 
Japanese  left  to  the  American  publishers  the  initiative 
and  the  expense  of  securing  the  introduction  of  the  books, 
a  work  that  involved,  of  necessity,  considerable  expense 
in  sending  skilled  educational  travellers  to  Japan  and  in 
the  distribution  of  specimen  copies.  When  the  books 
were  generally  accepted  and  a  current  demand  for  them 
had  been  established,  the  Japanese  printers  were  ready , 


-A.  Venture  witH  Japan.  425 

partly  through  the  use  of  photographic  processes,  to  pro- 
duce reprints  at  a  price  perhaps  one  third,  or  not  to 
exceed  one  half,  of  that  which  it  was  necessary  to  charge 
for  the  American  editions.  The  risk  of  appropriation  of 
Japanese  literature  either  in  Europe  or  in  the  United 
States  was,  of  course,  inconsiderable,  and  Japan  had, 
therefore,  good  business  grounds  for  remaining  outside  of 
copyright  conventions.  The  desire,  however,  to  be  fully 
accepted  into  the  comity  of  nations  caused  the  Japanese 
Government  to  secure  membership  in  the  Convention  of 
Berne  in  1899;  while,  in  1906,  it  took  the  further  step  of 
arranging  for  a  copyright  treaty  with  the  United  States. 
The  Japanese  publishers  were,  therefore,  called  upon,  for 
the  sake  of  the  dignity  of  the  nation,  to  sacrifice  a  business 
that  had  been  for  them  decidedly  advantageous. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

Family  Record — The  Metropolitan  Art 

Museum 

IN  January,  1869,  occurred  the  death  of  my  father's 
mother  who  was  then  in  her  seventy-fifth  year.  She 
had  retained  until  within  a  few  months  of  her  death 
all  her  faculties  and  a  sturdy  vitality  that  had  enabled  her 
to  continue  not  only  her  personal  interest,  but  a  full  share 
of  personal  activity  in  the  work  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  of  the  Seamen's  Bethel  Mission,  and  of  other 
kindred  undertakings.  She  had  made  her  home  with  her 
daughter  Elizabeth,  whose  husband,  Isaac  T.  Smith,  had, 
with  a  loyal  affection  for  his  wife's  mother  that  was  equally 
creditable  to  both,  always  been  ready  to  have  her  accept 
his  house  as  her  home.  This  home  relation  had  continued 
from  the  time  of  my  aunt's  marriage  in  1842.  The  fol- 
lowing letters,  which,  after  my  grandmother's  death, 
passed  between  my  father  and  my  uncle,  throw  some 
light  on  the  character  of  both  men,  and  also  upon  that  of 
the  woman  whose  life's  work  had  closed. 

Oriental  Hotel, 

Jan'y  12,  1869 

My  dear  Brother: 

I  am  not  one  of  the  "demonstrative"  sort,  as  you  know, 
and  I  frequently  reproach  myself  for  appearing  to  be  more 
indifferent  and  cold-blooded  than  I  really  am,  in  circumstances 

426 


Isaac  T.  SmitH  427 

which  would  naturally  excite  warm  emotions  in  a  susceptible 
person. 

But  I  have  been  often  prompted,  nevertheless,  to  express 
in  some  way  my  earnest  thankfulness  for  the  very  generous, 
considerate,  and  unselfish  kindness  and  liberality  which  you 
have  for  so  many  years  uniformly  and  constantly  bestowed  on 
our  venerable  Mother,  whose  mortal  part  we  yesterday  placed 
in  the  grave. 

I  did  not  need  to  be  convinced  of  the  unbroken  uniformity 
of  this  kindness, — but  I  cannot  help  remembering  that  almost 
the  last  words  which  I  heard  from  her  lips,  after  she  had  taken 
me  to  her  room  to  show  me  your  generous  Christmas  gift  in 
her  bank-book,  were,  "Yes,  he  has  always  been  very  good  to 
me."  Such  words  in  such  circumstances  have  a  peculiar 
value. 

If  I  have  never  fully  appreciated  and  valued  the  entire 
strength  and  excellence  of  Mother's  remarkable  character, 
and  the  beauty  and  power  of  her  extraordinary  Faith,  and  the 
equal  energy  of  her  Works  as  long  as  she  could  work,  let  us  at 
least  hope  that  the  influence  of  these  characteristics  as  an 
example  will  be  only  the  stronger  and  brighter,  now  that  she 
has  passed  away  so  peacefully  to  a  better  world,  leaving  us 
the  rich  legacy  of  a  well-spent  life,  in  which  her  never-faltering 
faith  was  so  constantly  manifested  in  the  untiring  energy  of 
her  practice,  so  long  as  her  physical  strength  permitted  her 
to  work  for  the  good  of  others. 

But  I  do  not  write  this  note  as  a  formal  and  hollow  parade 
of  mere  words. — I  wish  merely  to  say  most  emphatically  and 
sincerely  how  closely  the  memories  connected  with  our  Vener- 
ated Mother  and  her  last  days  and  years  on  earth  are  con- 
nected with  the  comforts  and  considerate  attentions  which 
you  so  constantly  placed  around  her.  Such  memories  must 
be  some  reward  for  you,  as  well  as  an  earnest  satisfaction  to 
all  of  us  who  share  in  the  legacy  of  wisdom  and  truth  and  bene- 
ficent example  left  us  by  our  departed  Mother. 

Your  affectionate  Brother, 

G.  P.  Putnam. 

Isaac  T.  Smith,  Esq. 


428  George  Palmer  Putnam 

New  York,  Jan'y  13,  1869. 
My  dear  Brother: 

I  have  received  your  kind  and  feeling  note  of  last  evening, 
so  characteristic  of  yourself,  and  so  worthy  of  such  a  mother, 
and  in  all  sincerity  reply  that  I  have  always  felt  honoured  and 
blessed  in  having  your  mother  as  my  guest. 

I  can  say  that  during  all  this  period  of  over  twenty-five  years 
the  esteem,  affection,  and  respect  which  I  first  felt  for  her  when 
she  became  one  of  my  family  remained  undiminished,  and  if 
possible  increased,  until,  venerated  and  beloved,  she  was  by 
the  dispensation  of  Providence  taken  from  her  home  here 
below  to  visit  in  those  heavenly  mansions  prepared  for  her 
above. 

I  am  gathering  up  all  that  relates  to  her  life,  her  writings, 
and  her  work,  and  especially  a  copy  of  the  remarks  made  at 
the  funeral  by  Dr.  Anderson  and  Dr.  Hodge,  and  intend 
to  have  them  appropriately  printed  to  send  to  distant  relatives 
and  friends. 

I  hope  that  the  rich  legacy  of  her  life  and  example  may  be 
valued  and  imitated  by  all  her  children  and  grandchildren  and 
their  descendants  for  many  generations. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

Isaac  T.  Smith. 

Geo.  P.  Putnam,  Esq. 

A  year  or  two  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  my 
father  interested  himself  with  a  group  of  other  public- 
spirited  citizens  of  New  York  in  the  organisation  of  the 
Metropolitan  Art  Museum.  I  am  not  sure  with  whom 
the  idea  of  the  Museum  originated.  The  men  who  came 
to  my  father's  office,  where  were  held  the  preliminary 
meetings,  included  William  T.  Blodgett,  William  C.  Prime, 
Robert  Hoe,  Jr.,  John  Taylor  Johnston,  and  three  or  four 
others  whose  names  at  the  moment  I  do  not  recall.  It  is 
my  memory  that  Mr.  Blodgett  was  perhaps  the  most 
active,  the  most  persistent,  and  the  most  hopeful  of  the 
men  who  first  gave  their  time  and  their  money  to  the 


THe  Metropolitan  Museum  429 

undertaking.  My  father  had  no  money  to  give,  but  of 
his  time  he  gave  very  freely  indeed  for  the  years  between 
1868  and  his  death  in  1872.  He  was  made  Secretary,  or, 
as  it  was  later  termed,  Honorary  Secretary,  of  the  Insti- 
tution, and  notwithstanding  the  demands  of  his  business, 
he  found  time,  after  the  first  exhibits  had  been  opened,  to 
pass  at  the  Museum  certain  hours  of  every  week  and  to 
give  his  personal  attention  to  the  supervision  of  the  paid 
staff.  I  think  it  possible  that  if  he  had  lived  he  might 
have  accepted  some  position  as  a  general  superin- 
tendent or  director.  He  had  no  technical  or  expert 
knowledge  of  art,  but  he  had  excellent  knowledge  concern- 
ing sources  of  information,  and  he  seemed  to  be  able  to 
estimate  fairly  the  relative  value  of  conflicting  authorities. 
His  judgment  on  art  matters  was  considered  good,  and  for 
the  years  in  question  he  was  also  Chairman  of  the  Art 
Committee  of  the  Union  League  Club,  the  monthly  exhibi- 
tions of  which  included  some  of  the  most  important  of 
the  art  productions  that  came  to  the  city. 

In  the  preliminary  work  of  the  organisation  committee 
of  the  Museum,  a  very  important  part  of  my  father's 
responsibility  was  that  of  keeping  together — if  not  in  har- 
monious accord,  in  what  might  be  called  working  accord — 
some  of  the  most  important  of  the  citizens  interested. 
They  were  men  of  very  decided  convictions,  and  three  or 
four  of  them  had  very  definite  theories  of  their  own  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  Museum  should  be  organised  and 
carried  on.  There  was,  of  course,  opportunity  for  no  little 
diversity  of  opinion  concerning  different  directions  of 
enterprise,  different  forms  of  organisation,  the  classes 
of  the  public  for  which  the  exhibits  should  be  prepared, 
different  methods  of  raising  the  funds  and  of  securing, 
in  addition  to  private  ubscriptions,  aid  from  the  city  or 
State,  and,  finally,  the  different  channels  in  which  the 
first  funds  should  be  expended.     The  diverse  opinions  on 


430  George  Palmer  Putnam 

these  several  headings  sometimes  took  very  hot  expression 
indeed.  Two  or  three  times  the  members  of  the  com- 
mittee separated  from  their  meetings  in  our  office  in  what 
might  be  called  centrifugal  atoms,  and  it  looked  as  if  they 
would  never  come  together  again.  The  antagonism 
between  Mr.  H.  and  Mr.  B.  I  remember  as  particularly 
keen.  Each  of  the  two  had  some  theory  of  leadership 
in  the  undertaking,  and  while  each  possessed  certain  of 
the  qualities  of  leadership,  neither  one  could  be  trusted 
to  act  with  the  judgment,  tact,  and  influence  required. 
The  responsibilities  of  leadership,  as  far  at  least  as  it  could 
be  indicated  by  office,  came  first  to  John  Taylor  Johnston, 
who  was  made  President  of  the  Association.  The  first 
funds  were  raised  by  private  subscription,  and  a  pre- 
liminary exhibit  was  opened  in  a  house  in  upper  Fifth 
Avenue,  somewhere  near  50th  Street.  During  the  suc- 
ceeding season,  an  old  dwelling-house  of  considerable  size 
was  secured  in  West  14th  Street,  and  remained  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Museum  until  the  putting  up  of  the  first 
of  the  series  of  buildings  in  Central  Park,  buildings  which 
have,  in  later  years,  been  very  largely  added  to. 

After  these  stormy  meetings,  my  father  would  occa- 
sionally give  me  a  word  of  sermonising  on  the  futility  of 
public-spirited  citizens  losing  their  temper  concerning 
methods  and  details,  or  on  the  ground  of  personal  jeal- 
ousies, and  he  would  then  devote  time  before  the  day 
fixed  for  a  later  meeting  to  personal  visits  from  house  to 
house  in  the  labour  of  smoothing  over  the  differences,  of  ad- 
justing the  jealousies,  and  of  explaining  away  expressions 
that  had  given  undue  offence,  and  of  persuading  his  associ- 
ates to  come  together  for  further  attempts  at  organisation. 

Among  the  publications  which  resulted  from  my  father's 
art  interests  was  a  history  of  American  art  or  of  American 
artists,  by  his  old-time  friend,  Henry  T.  Tuckerman.  The 
book  contained  valuable  material,  but  too  much  of  it.     Its 


Business  Changes  431 

publication  paid  expenses,  in  connection  more  particularly 
with  a  limited  number  of  specially  illustrated  copies  sold 
at  a  high  price,  but  the  work  failed  to  secure  continued  ac- 
ceptance. It  is  probable  that  Tuckerman  was  at  best  not 
a  very  incisive  or  critical  writer,  although  he  did  have  a 
good  knowledge  of  art  history. 

In  1867,  a  year  after  the  establishment  of  the  new  firm, 
my  father  made  a  trip  to  England,  in  order  to  renew  rela- 
tions with  his  old-time  correspondents  in  the  English 
book-trade,  and  also  to  make  clear  to  literary  workers 
that  he  was  again  prepared  to  take  up  English  publica- 
tions. The  following  year  I  was  myself  sent  over  with 
letters  of  introduction  to  the  leaders  in  the  book-trade,  the 
group  of  which  still  included  a  number  of  the  men  who  had 
been  active  in  the  business  at  the  time  of  my  father's 
sojourn  in  London.  During  the  succeeding  years,  one  of 
the  members  of  the  firm  made  a  point  of  being  in  London 
for  a  few  weeks  of  each  summer. 

In  the  same  year,  the  burning  of  the  Winter  Garden 
Theatre,  which  was  an  extension  of  the  old  LaFarge  house, 
very  nearly  brought  about  the  destruction  of  the  stock  and 
the  offices  of  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Son.  Our  books  and  papers 
were  moved  across  Broadway  to  the  premises  of  the 
Scribners,  which  were  nearly  opposite,  and  the  day  fol- 
lowing, when  the  fire,  which  had  destroyed  a  large  piece 
of  the  block,  was  fairly  under  control,  were  moved  back 
again.  There  was  naturally  in  the  hurry  of  the  first  trans- 
fer, some  loss  and  some  damage,  but  as  our  own  building 
had  not  actually  been  touched  by  either  fire  or  water,  we 
could  not  secure  any  offset  from  the  insurance  companies. 

In  1870,  the  business  was  removed  to  the  building  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  on  the  corner  of 
Fourth  Avenue  and  23d  Street.  Our  own  store  occupied 
an  L,  the  larger  limb  of  which  was  on  Fourth  Avenue, 
while  our  offices  opened  more  directly  on  to  23d  Street. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Some  Later  Undertakings  of  G.  P.  Putnam 

&.  Sons 

AMONG  the  authors  with  whom  the  firm  came  into 
relations  in  the  five  or  six  years  immediately  suc- 
ceeding the  reorganisation  of  the  publishing 
business  in  1 866, 1  may  recall  the  following :  Isabella  Bird, 
later  known  as  Isabella  Bird  Bishop,  for  whom  we  pub- 
lished, about  1870,  in  co-operation  with  John  Murray  of 
London,  a  sprightly  volume  entitled  Six  Months  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  which  was  followed,  a  year  later,  by  A 
Ladys  Life  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  author  in  ques- 
tion was  a  plucky  Englishwoman  with  a  perfect  mania  for 
travelling,  whose  travels  have  since  taken  her  into  many 
out-of-the-way  corners  of  the  earth.  She  followed  up 
these  two  earlier  volumes  with  accounts  of  sojourns  in 
Korea,  in  some  hitherto  unvisited  districts  of  China,  etc. 
The  widow  of  the  famous  naturalist,  John  James  Audubon, 
prepared  in  1869-70,  with  the  aid  of  her  granddaughter, 
Lucy  Audubon,  a  volume  presenting  the  life  and  journals 
of  her  husband.  Mrs.  Audubon  died  in  187 1.  I  had 
occasion  to  call  upon  her,  under  my  father's  instructions, 
in  connection  with  the  production  for  this  volume  of  an 
engraving  of  the  Inman  portrait  of  the  naturalist.  The 
portrait  itself  was  one  of  the  most  effective  pieces  of 
Inman's  work,  and  its  reproduction  is  fortunately  also 
very  artistic.     The  old  lady  herself  was  very  attractive 

432 


Later  UndertaKings  433 

and  entertaining.  We  were  fortunately  able  to  arrange 
with  Sampson  Low  &  Co.  for  an  English  edition,  and  the 
returns  from  the  two  editions  brought  to  Mrs.  Audubon, 
during  her  last  years,  funds  that  were  much  needed. 
About  the  same  time,  we  undertook  the  publication  of  a 
series  of  brief  biographies  of  European  statesmen,  which 
were  edited  by  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  who  him- 
self wrote  the  volume  on  English  statesmen. 

Under  arrangements  with  my  father's  old-time  friend, 
Mr.  Bryant,  we  published  illustrated  editions  of  the 
famous  poems  Thanatopsis,  The  Flood  of  Years,  and 
Among  the  Trees.  The  designs  for  these  volumes  were 
drawn  and  engraved  by  William  J.  Linton,  who  died  in 
1898  at  quite  an  advanced  age.  Mr.  Linton  had  long 
held  the  position  of  the  leading  wood-engraver  in  this 
country,  and  possibly  in  the  world.  He  was  probably 
to  be  classed  as  the  last  artistic  engraver  of  his  own  special 
school,  which  has  been  largely  replaced  by  the  later 
methods  of  reproducing  artists'  drawings  in  photogravure 
or  in  half-tone.  My  father  had  met  Linton  during  his 
earlier  sojourns  in  England,  when  Linton  as  a  young  man 
was  an  enthusiastic  Chartist.  Discouraged  at  the  slow 
progress  that  his  radical  friends  were  making  in  reshaping 
the  government  and  the  social  organisation  of  England, 
Linton  had  come  to  the  United  States  in  the  early  sixties, 
making  his  home  in  New  Haven.  He  brought  with  him 
his  two  daughters.  His  wife,  who  was  making  a  note- 
worthy prestige  for  herself  as  a  novelist  (writing  under 
the  name  of  Lynn  Linton),  did  not  share  her  husband's 
discouragement  about  England,  and  considered  it  more 
important  to  remain  an  Englishwoman  than  to  join  her 
husband.  She  died  in  London  a  few  months  after  the 
death  of  her  husband  in  New  Haven. 

Richard  Irving  Dodge,  a  colonel  in  the  United  States 
Army,  and  a  nephew  of  Washington  Irving,  wrote,  in  1870, 
28 


434  George  Palmer  Putnam 

a  volume  entitled  The  Plains  of  the  Great  West  and  Their 
Inhabitants,  a  volume  which  presented  a  careful  study  of 
the  life  of  certain  tribes  of  American  Indians  with  which 
the  colonel  had  come  into  close  relations.  He  was  able  to 
speak  of  the  Indians  with  more  sympathetic  knowledge 
than  is  often  shown  by  army  officers  who  have  had  ex- 
periences on  the  border,  and  many  of  whom  are  inclined 
to  sum  up  the  Indian  with  some  such  conclusion  as  "No 
good  Indian  but  a  dead  Indian." 

In  1868,  Theodore  S.  Fay,  whose  name  had  for  nearly 
three  quarters  of  a  century  back,  in  association  with  that 
of  Nathaniel  P.  Willis,  been  connected  with  the  Home 
Journal,  and  also  with  certain  romances,  brought  into  our 
office  from  Berlin,  where  he  had  for  a  number  of  years 
made  his  home,  a  work  quite  different  in  its  character 
from  the  light  literature  which  had  previously  interested 
him.  He  had  prepared  two  text-books  on  geography 
which  were,  as  he  fondly  hoped,  to  revolutionise  the  whole 
method  of  teaching  in  the  elementary  and  the  higher 
schools  of  this  branch  of  instruction.  He  had  given  years 
of  labour  to  the  production  of  his  book,  and  had  invested 
in  the  preparation  of  the  costly  maps  all  the  money  that 
he  could  spare  of  his  own  and  a  further  fund  borrowed  for 
the  purpose  from  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  Abbott.  He  was 
quite  confident  that  the  moneys  were  to  come  back  to  him 
with  very  large  profits  in  addition,  and  he  was  equally  cer- 
tain that  the  book  was  to  make  the  fortune  of  the  favoured 
publisher  to  whose  charge  it  should  be  confided.  ■  My 
father  had  had  personal  relations  with  Mr.  Fay  between 
1 848-1 852  or  1853,  when  the  latter  was  engaged  in  carry- 
ing on  the  Home  Journal.  He  published,  as  late  as  1896, 
a  work  on  the  history  of  Germany,  which  showed  a  good 
deal  of  industry  and  research,  but  which  was  not  accepted 
as  authoritative.  He  died  the  following  year,  being  at 
the  time  nearly  ninety. 


Later  UndertaKings  435 

It  was,  I  think,  in  1870,  that  Mrs.  Eliza  Greatorex 
brought  into  the  office  a  series  of  drawings  presenting 
studies  of  what  remained  of  old  New  York — buildings, 
bits  of  old  parks,  etc.  Some  of  the  buildings  presented 
in  her  drawings  had,  in  fact,  already  disappeared,  the 
drawings  having  been  prepared  some  years  back.  The 
series  included,  for  instance,  picturesque  views  of  Colum- 
bia College  at  the  time  when  the  college  buildings  were  in 
the  park  since  covered  by  College  Place  and  West  Street. 
There  were  also  views  of  this  park  at  Broadway,  where  the 
buildings  of  the  New  York  Hospital  were  permitted  to 
remain  for  a  series  of  years  after  the  college  had  been 
moved  up  to  49th  Street.  In  the  hospital  grounds,  my 
father  had  some  personal  interest,  as  his  old  office  at  321 
Broadway  had  overlooked  them.  These  views  were  repro- 
duced by  the  best  process  which  was  at  that  time  available, 
and,  in  connection  with  some  gracefully  written,  though 
not  very  complete  or  very  accurate,  descriptions,  were 
bound  up  into  two  folio  volumes  entitled  Old  New  York; 
the  Battery  to  Bloomingdale.  The  reproductions  were 
made  in  advance  of  the  time  when  the  work  of  photo- 
engraving was  really  satisfactory  for  artistic  effects,  and 
the  prints  were  not  as  good  as  they  ought  to  have  been. 
The  volumes  possess,  however,  some  permanent  value  as 
a  record  of  bits  of  New  York  which  have  now  in  great  part 
disappeared. 

Dr.  William  A.  Hammond,  who  had  had  during  the  war 
a  varied  experience  in  the  post  of  Surgeon-General  of  the 
Army,  gave  us  for  publication,  about  1870,  two  or  three 
more  or  less  scientific  books,  of  which  the  most  successful 
was  one  devoted  to  Spiritualism  and  Allied  Causes  of 
Nervous  Derangement. 

Another  physician  with  whom  during  this  period  we 
had  publishing  and  personal  relations  was  Dr.  Brown- 
Sequard,  a  man  of  a  world-wide  reputation  as  well  for 


436  George  Palmer  Putnam 

scientific  ability  as  for  extreme  crankiness.  We  pub- 
lished for  him  during  one  year  a  journal  chiefly  devoted  to 
nervous  diseases,  entitled  Archives  of  Scientific  and  Prac- 
tical Medicine.  A  doctor  associated  with  him  in  the 
management  of  the  journal  was  Dr.  E.  C.  Seguin,  who  was 
also  connected  with  him  in  his  special  nervous-disease 
practice.  Dr.  Brown-Sequard  was  a  native  of  Mauritius, 
his  father  being  English  and  his  mother  French.  His 
professional  life  had  been  for  the  greater  part  passed  in 
Paris,  but  during  several  periods  he  had  had  an  office  in 
London,  and  for  two  or  three  years  remained  a  resident  of 
New  York.  He  was  a  brilliant  investigator,  and  I  under- 
stand that  in  many  branches  of  nervous  diseases  his  sug- 
gestions and  theories  have  proved  of  lasting  importance. 
He  made  and  spent  a  large  income,  an  income  which  would 
have  been  still  larger  if  he  could  have  brought  himself  to 
remain  for  any  long  period  in  one  place.  Just  about  the 
time,  however,  that  he  had  collected  a  circle  of  European 
patients  in  Paris,  he  would  be  seized  with  unrest,  and, 
closing  his  office,  with  hardly  an  hour's  notice,  would  flit 
over  to  London.  After  having  fairly  established  himself 
in  London,  and  having  expended,  as  he  always  did  expend, 
considerable  sums  of  money  in  the  fittings  of  his  home  and 
office,  he  would  go  to  New  York  or  to  Italy.  His  scien- 
tific research  was  as  fitful  as  his  practice.  The  Archives 
of  Medicine,  which,  according  to  the  preliminary  announce- 
ment, was  to  be  a  permanent  organ  for  the  nervous  prac- 
titioners of  the  world,  was  continued  for  five  numbers 
only.  It  was  published  monthly,  and  seven  numbers  were 
therefore  due  to  subscribers  who  had  paid  in  advance 
their  year's  subscriptions.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year 
in  question,  without  any  notice  to  his  publishers,  the  Doc- 
tor flitted  southwards  from  New  York,  and  for  a  period  of 
months  gave  us  no  notification  whatsoever  of  his  where- 
abouts.     The  publishers  had  on   their  hands  annoying 


Later  UndertaKings  437 

correspondence  with  the  irate  subscribers.  Finally, 
about  one  year  after  the  stoppage  of  the  magazine,  the 
Doctor  placed  in  our  hands,  writing  from  Paris,  funds  with 
which  to  return  to  the  subscribers  the  amount  due  them 
for  the  half-year's  subscription.  He  asked  us,  in  sending 
the  two  dollars,  to  explain  to  each  subscriber  that  the  sixth 
number,  also  due  to  them,  would  be  delivered  "shortly." 
The  "copy"  or  material  for  this,  however,  never  came, 
and  the  publishers  were  called  upon  to  remit  to  about  a 
thousand  dissatisfied  subscribers  thirty -five  cents  each. 

With  his  associate,  Dr.  Seguin,  who  remained  in 
practice  in  New  York,  we  continued  in  relations  for  a 
number  of  years.  In  connection  with  the  Archives  of 
Medicine  and  with  the  relations  that  it  brought  to  us 
with  the  medical  profession,  we  began  with  1869  a  medi- 
cal department,  which  has  been  continued  to  the  present 
time  with  varying  results.  Among  the  nervous  practi- 
tioners whose  books  came  to  us  as  a  result  of  the  A  r chives 
of  Medicine  was  Dr.  George  M.  Beard,  whose  book  on 
American  Nervousness  had  some  continued  success.  The 
subject  seems  likely  to  be  one  of  abiding  interest  for  the 
American  people. 

Dr.  W.  S.  Mayo,  whose  name  may  be  remembered  in 
connection  with  the  romance  Kaloolah,  one  of  the  success- 
ful publications  of  the  old  House,  brought  to  my  father,  in 
1870,  a  new  story  entitled  Never  Again.  The  doctor  was 
at  the  time  a  man  of  substance,  having  married  a  Stuy- 
vesant.  He  proposed  to  print  this  book  in  his  own  way, 
regardless  of  expense.  Under  his  instructions,  the  matter 
was  set  in  very  large  type,  and  series  of  galley  proofs  were 
taken,  with  which  proofs  he  practically  reshaped  the 
text.  The  printers  were  then  instructed  to  distribute 
the  first  batch  of  type  and  to  set  the  story  a  second  time. 
The  second  series  of  proofs  were  handled  nearly  as  severely 
as  the  first,  but  a  third  setting  was  finally  accepted  as 


43^  Georg'e  Palmer  Putnam 

satisfactory.  This  method  of  reshaping  a  book  after  it 
was  in  type  was  in  line  with  that  pursued  by  the  somewhat 
more  famous  author,  Balzac,  but  the  Frenchman  made 
his  publishers  pay  for  the  expense.  Never  Again  made 
for  itself  a  fair  success,  but  never  attained  the  prestige  of 
Kaloolah,  and  the  doctor  did  not  feel  encouraged  to  go  on 
in  his  old  age  with  further  authorship. 

During  this  period,  our  old-time  friend  and  author, 
Susan  Warner,  resumed  her  relations  with  the  House, 
and  published  three  stories,  Diana,  Wych  Hazel,  and  The 
Gold  of  Chickaree.  Miss  Warner  had  retained  her  reading 
public  for  a  longer  term  of  years  than  was  the  case  possibly 
with  any  other  American  writer  of  fiction  whose  work  had 
begun  as  early  as  1849.  Fifty  years  later  there  is  still 
continued  demand  not  only  for  the  first  book,  the  Wide, 
Wide  World,  but  for  nearly  the  entire  series. 

One  of  the  more  expensive  publications  of  1872  (the 
last  year  of  my  father's  management  of  the  business)  was 
a  big  folio  entitled  The  American  Landscape  Gallery,  which 
presented,  with  some  descriptive  text,  engravings  on  steel 
of  landscape  works  by  some  of  the  more  noteworthy  of 
the  American  artists.  The  volume  was  issued  in  co-opera- 
tion with  William  Pate,  the  engraver.  The  book  can  be 
considered  in  its  way  as  a  landmark  in  the  history  of 
American  publishing,  as  it  was  one  of  the  last  volumes  the 
illustrations  in  which  were  presented  in  the  form  of  steel 
plates.  The  very  large  cost  of  steel  engraving,  as  com- 
pared with  the  later  illustration  methods,  has  practically 
brought  to  a  close,  at  least  as  far  as  American  book-pro- 
duction is  concerned,  this  form  of  illustrated  publication. 
The  book  was  not  a  noteworthy  success,  but  returned  its 
cost  with  some  margin  of  profit.  The  year  1872  was  not  a 
prosperous  one  for  business  generally  or  for  the  book- trade 
in  particular.  The  apprehensions  of  the  disasters  of  1873 
were  already  being  felt  in  the  financial  and  commercial 


A.n  -Accident  439 

circles.     Books  are  sensitive  products,  and  are  easily  for- 
gotten by  buyers  during  periods  of  doubt  or  anxiety. 

In  1870,  the  year  after  my  marriage,  my  father  and  I 
arranged  to  share  an  apartment  in  the  building  142  East 
1 8th  Street,  which  had  been  designed  by  Hunt,  and  which 
was,  I  believe,  the  first  of  the  long  series  of  New  York 
apartment  houses.  In  visiting  this  building  before  its 
completion,  my  father  met  with  an  accident  which  brought 
him  near  to  death.  A  descending  mortar  crate,  which  had 
in  some  way  gotten  out  of  control,  knocked  him  over  and 
fell  in  part  upon  him.  The  shock  was  serious,  and  its 
effects  were,  I  believe,  felt  by  him  up  to  his  death. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
The  Last  Days 

IN  December,  1872,  my  father  was  called  to  the  funeral 
of  his  old  friend,  the  artist  Kensett.  The  weather  was 
inclement,  and  he  came  back  in  the  afternoon  more 
exhausted  than  was  usual  for  a  man  of  his  energetic  tem- 
perament. I  found  afterward  that,  absorbed  in  other 
matters,  he  had  eaten  practically  nothing  during  the  day. 
He  died  suddenly  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  December 
20,  1872.  His  death  occurred  in  the  office,  where  he  fell 
into  my  arms  and  never  recovered  consciousness. 

The  funeral  was  held  at  the  Madison  Avenue  Baptist 
Church,  of  which  at  that  time  Dr.  Elder  was  pastor.  With 
Dr.  Elder  were  associated  for  this  service  Dr.  Stephen  H. 
Tyng  from  St.  George's  Church,  Dr.  Howard  Crosby 
from  the  Fourth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  and  Dr. 
George   H.    Prentiss. 

Dr.  Tyng  read  a  service  at  the  home  for  the  family,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  family  were  supposed  to  belong 
to  Dr.  Elder's  church.  At  the  public  service  Dr.  Bellows 
was  also  among  the  clergymen,  and  Mr.  Frothingham  was 
in  one  of  the  front  pews. 

My  father's  death  was  due  to  a  fainting  fit  caused  by 
exhaustion  of  the  blood-vessels  of  the  brain.  It  was 
certainly  painless,  and  coming  as  it  did  without  the  strain 

440 


A.  Study  of  Character  441 

of  illness  and  in  the  midst  of  the  books  that  he  loved,  it 
might  be  looked  upon  as  a  fitting  close  to  a  life 
which  had  certainly  in  itself  been  in  more  ways  than  one 
thoroughly  happy.  The  happiness  of  my  father's  life  had 
come  to  him  rather  from  temperament  than  from  success. 
He  had  had  in  certain  periods  a  fair  measure  of  satisfactory 
results  from  intelligent  and  active  work.  He  had  also 
secured  a  well-earned  and  invaluable  prestige  with  the 
community  for  good  service  as  an  unselfish  and  public- 
spirited  and  patriotic  citizen.  He  had  won  for  himself 
the  cordial  regard  and  respect  of  the  best  citizens  of  the 
land,  and  had  secured  from  among  these  a  circle  of  valued 
and  intimate  friends.  His  domestic  life  had  been  in  every 
way  happy.  Different  as  we  were  in  many  ways  by  tem- 
perament or  character,  we  fitted  in  very  well  together,  as 
I  was  more  than  glad  to  find  when,  in  the  management  of 
the  business,  I  became  his  close  associate  and  partner  and 
a  sharer  with  him  of  business  calculations  and  of  business 
anxieties.  When  we  first  began  work  together  in  1866,  I 
was  interested  to  note  that  the  conservative  or  pessimistic 
side  of  the  partnership  must  depend  upon  the  younger 
member.  In  spite  of  previous  trials  and  disappointments, 
my  father,  in  beginning  for  the  second  time  his  publishing 
career,  was  still  ready  to  be  hopeful  and  optimistic,  some- 
times unduly  optimistic,  as,  with  a  closer  calculation  of 
resources  and  a  much  smaller  amount  of  creative  ability 
and  of  business  imagination,  his  junior  was  disposed  to 
think.  Such  a  combination  of  optimism  and  conservatism 
in  the  make-up  of  a  firm  is  always  desirable,  but  it  is  less 
usual  for  the  younger  member  to  be  the  one  who  holds 
back  and  who  doubts. 

From  my  earliest  boyhood,  my  relations  with  my  father 
had  been  close.  He  was,  as  before  stated,  never  demon- 
strative, and  his  dread  of  interfering  with  the  individuality 
or  personal  liberty  of  anybody  with  whom  he  had  to  do 


442  Georg'e  Palmer  Pvitnam 

made  him  sometimes  almost  unduly  reticent.  But  with 
all  his  reserve,  he  was  by  nature  keenly  sympathetic. 

I  could  always  feel  assured,  without  any  spoken  words, 
that  he  understood  what  I  had  at  heart,  and  that  he  had 
made  my  hopes  and  aims  his  own.  I  know  that  during 
these  six  years  of  our  working  together,  with  the  many 
business  problems  and  perplexities,  as  I  arrived  at  a  fuller 
understanding  of  his  high  purposes  and  simple-hearted, 
straight  forward  standard  of  action,  I  was  on  my  part 
more  than  ready  to  identify  myself  with  his  hopes  and 
wishes. 

It  is  now  forty  years  since  the  day  when  I  heard  my 
father's  last  words,  and  it  is,  of  course,  not  easy  to  say 
that  my  memories  of  him  are  absolutely  trustworthy.  I 
should  say  now,  however,  as  I  certainly  felt  in  1872,  that 
he  never  wanted  anything  that  he  ought  not  to  have  had. 
His  purposes  were  all  high  and  his  aims  unselfish.  With 
this  conviction  of  his  character,  it  is  to  me  a  great  satis- 
faction to  remember  that  these  six  years  of  our  close  busi- 
ness association  passed  without  a  jar  or  a  friction,  as,  if 
there  had  been  any  such  instances,  the  fault  must  have 
rested  with  myself.  There  was,  however,  no  merit  in 
working  harmoniously  with  a  partner  of  his  temperament. 

My  brothers  and  myself  were  during  this  sad  week 
before  Christmas  taken  away  from  our  business  desks. 
The  thought  occurred  to  my  father's  friend  and  old-time 
associate,  Henry  Holt,  that  the  place  of  business  ought  to 
be  kept  open  without  any  break,  and  that  service  must 
be  secured  for  its  management.  He  with  Charles 
Collins  and  Andrew  C.  Armstrong,  a  partner  of  my 
father's  early  friend,  Charles  Scribner,  and  himself  an 
old-time  friend  and  associate,  took  charge  for  the  week 
of  the  business  of  G.  P.  Putnam  &  Sons. 

The  resolution,  the  original  of  which  I  find  in  my  scrap- 
book  as  pencilled  by  Henry  Holt,  reads  as  follows: 


TKe  Service  of  Friends  443 

The  undersigned  members  of  the  book-trade,  realising  that 
to  the  affliction  of  the  family  of  the  late  George  P.  Putnam 
ought  not  to  be  added  the  very  serious  financial  detriment  of 
an  interruption  of  the  business  of  Mr.  Putnam's  House  at  this 
most  important  season,  have  taken  upon  themselves  the  re- 
sponsibility of  conducting  the  business  at  the  establishment  in 
Association  Building,  until  the  surviving  members  of  the  firm 
can  resume  control. 


This  notice,  published  with  thoughtful  care  by  Mr.  Holt 
in  the  daily  papers  as  well  as  in  the  trade  journals,  served 
the  purpose  of  making  clear  to  the  book-buying  public 
with  whom  the  responsibility  rested  for  the  supervision 
of  the  business  in  the  Fourth  Avenue  book-shop,  and  also 
incidentally  proved  an  advantageous  influence  in  adver- 
tising the  business  during  the  all-important  Christmas 
week. 

It  is  my  memory  that  Mr.  Holt  and  his  associates 
brought  with  them  one  or  more  clerks  in  order  to  make 
sure  that  the  force  was  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the 
holiday  season.  I  know  that  the  earnest  personal  atten- 
tion given  by  these  men  (who  neglected  for  the  time  their 
own  business  affairs),  aided  possibly  by  some  increased 
interest  on  the  part  of  the  public  in  the  fortunes  of  the 
House  whose  head  had  just  been  stricken  down,  brought 
to  the  establishment  during  these  December  days  a  larger 
trade  than  had  been  expected  or  than  probably  would  have 
been  secured  in  the  ordinary  routine.  When,  the  day 
after  Christmas,  the  affairs  were  handed  back  into  the 
hands  of  my  brother  Bishop  and  myself,  I  was  pleased 
to  find  a  larger  cash  balance  immediately  available  than  I 
had  ventured  to  expect. 

The  year  1873  brought  with  it  serious  disasters  to  the 
business  of  the  country,  and  the  failures  and  the  general 
interference    with    trade    were     more    considerable    and 


444  George  Palmer  Putnam 

far-reaching  than  had  been  known  in  any  year  since  1857. 
If  we  had  entered  upon  the  year's  business  with  any  accu- 
mulation of  indebtedness  from  previous  seasons,  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  us  to  pull  through.  My  own 
experience  was  but  limited,  and  while  I  had  pleasant  rela- 
tions with  a  number  of  my  father's  older  friends,  a  group 
which  included  some  men  of  capital,  I  should  naturally 
have  been  rather  timid  in  asking  them  to  extend  to  young- 
sters like  myself  and  my  brother  loans  or  credit  which  I 
should  have  been  willing  to  ask  for  on  behalf  of  my  father. 
As  it  turned  out,  however,  we  were  able  to  bring  the  con- 
cern through  the  year  in  safety,  although  with  meagre 
business  returns.  During  1873,  the  sales  of  books  were 
diminishing,  and  not  a  few  of  the  booksellers  failed  to  make 
payment  for  what  they  had  bought,  but  with  1874  there 
came  a  change  for  the  better. 

From  the  long  series  of  notices  of  my  father's  career, 
either  by  individual  friends  or  by  editors  who  had  some 
personal  interest  in  the  man,  I  select  for  this  record  the 
following : 

An  article  in  the  Publishers1  Weekly,  written  by  Mr. 
Frederic  Leypoldt,  closes  as  follows : 

Singularly  winning  in  manner  and  even  in  temper,  a  radiance 
of  genial  feeling  always  shone  from  his  pleasant  face,  and  a 
cordial  greeting  was  always  felt  in  the  grasp  of  his  hand.  Any 
one  who  had  ever  met  him  was  able  easily  to  understand  why 
he  had  been  a  life-long  and  intimate  friend  of  so  many  of  those 
with  whom  he  had  to  do,  and  why  there  should  be  so  large  a 
circle  of  intimates  to  mourn  him.  These  outward  qualities 
were  but  the  expression  of  a  beautiful  soul,  a  warm  heart,  and 
a  well-stored  and  vigorous  mind.  It  was  chiefly  in  personal 
influence  upon  individuals  that  his  life-work  was  done,  for 
with  his  somewhat  hesitating  speech,  a  peculiarity  which  gave 
weight  to  his  conversation,  he  was  not  much  given  to  public 
address.     Yet  there  were  few  men  who  had  done  more  in  lead- 


Appreciations  445 

ership  in  the  literary  and  art  development  of  his  country.  In 
all  such  undertakings  he  was  trustingly  looked  to  for  enthusi- 
astic help,  and  he  never  failed  in  effective  response  to  the 
trust.  .  .  .  The  history  of  his  career  as  a  publisher  was  one 
altogether  of  measures  planned  for  the  best  interests  of  his 
country  and  his  readers.  He  felt  deeply  the  responsibility  of 
the  publisher's  calling,  and  never  did  anything  issue  from  his 
press  which  he  believed  could  injure  in  any  way  or  degree  man, 
woman,  or  child.  His  conscientiousness  and  his  Christianity 
were  thus  vital,  permeating  every  moment  and  every  act  of 
his  life.  As  a  writer  and  compiler,  he  had  done  much  and  good 
service,  as  all  readers  know.  As  a  supporter  of  American  art 
no  one  was  before  him ;  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  how  much 
art  in  this  country  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Putnam.  He  was  self- 
sacrificing  always,  but  never  more  cheerfully  and  continuously 
than  in  his  years  of  voluntary  service  in  connection  with  that 
long  series  of  efforts  now  crowned  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum 
of  Art.  We  trust  that  some  fitting  record  of  his  memory  may 
be  made  in  connection  with  this  enterprise,  which  commanded 
his  last  efforts,  and  with  which  we  believe  he  would  like  best  to 
have  his  name  associated. 

An  editorial  in  Harper  s  Weekly,  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Curtis,  closes  with  these  words: 

Eminently  social  in  his  disposition,  Mr.  Putnam  surrounded 
himself  with  warm  friends.  His  counsels  were  frequently 
sought,  and  always  highly  appreciated.  Modest  and  retiring 
in  his  manners,  he  cherished  a  singular  self-respect,  and  never 
receded  from  his  ground  but  through  the  force  of  conviction. 
He  was  a  man  of  the  rarest  purity  and  sweetness  of  life,  of 
strong  religious  sentiment,  and  a  model  of  excellence  in  the 
social  and  domestic  relations. 

W.  C.  Prime  wrote  in  the  Observer: 

.  .  .  One  of  the  true  order  of  gentlemen,  a  soul  so  candid, 
chivalrous,  and  kind  that  we  can  only  pray  Heaven  to  make 


446  George  Palmer  Putnam 

men  more  like  him.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  breathe  abroad 
his  unnamed  virtues.  So  singularly  pure  a  life  in  the  heart  of 
modern  society ;  such  incapacity  to  do  or  to  fathom  meanness ; 
such  integrity  joined  to  such  liberality,  and  such  unworldly 
honour,  belong  only  to  a  few  favoured  souls  who  show  the  real 
worth  and  possible  goodness  of  human  nature.  No  chivalry 
of  the  time  which  has  much  unsuspected  nobility  to  declare 
in  after-story  shows  a  Paladin  of  whom  to  pride  itself  more 
than  the  gentle,  old-fashioned  figure  of  this  publisher,  with 
his  bright  eyes  moving  among  his  books  and  papers,  careful, 
courteous,  exact,  with  benevolence  and  honour  and  a  sense  of 
duty  crystal-clear,  that  shone  like  a  Venetian  mirror  in  antique 
setting.  .  .  .  His  exactness  and  his  kindness  together  were 
irresistible,  as  many  young  authors  have  declared,  who  found 
him  their  earliest  and  safe  friend.  Of  his  services  to  American 
literature,  which  owes  more  of  what  is  pure  and  delightful  to 
his  labours  than  to  those  of  any  other  one  man  who  can  be 
named,  less  need  be  said  than  of  his  rare  personal  qualities. 
This  doubtless,  however,  may  be  stated:  no  author  directed 
by  his  sagacity  into  the  work  native  to  his  talent  ever  found 
him  afterward  capable  of  extortionate,  dishonourable  money- 
making  out  of  other  men's  brains  and  fingers.  He  was  always 
to  them  a  better  friend  and  counsellor  than  they  could  be  to 
themselves.  His  honesty  was  a  proverb  among  publishers. 
His  friends  used  to  tell  how  he  absolutely  refused  to  believe  in 
the  rascality  of  a  firm  by  which  he  lost  considerably.  "It 
must  be  a  mistake,"  he  said.  "  To  say  otherwise  would  prove 
the  man  dishonest,"  a  possibility  of  which  Mr.  Putnam  never 
could  conceive.  His  nature  attracted  to  him  only  high-minded 
gentlemen  like  himself ;  others  were  warned  away  by  their  own 
instincts.  ...  So  high  a  standard  of  honour  is  all  too  rare, 
and  the  world  can  better  afford  to  lose  brilliant  genius  than 
unstudied  moral  worth. 

Frederic  Beecher  Perkins,  whose  relations  with  my  father 
have  already  been  referred  to,  wrote  in  the  Examiner: 

I  do  not  know  anybody  who  seemed  to  me  more  absolutely 


Appreciations  447 

good.  He  was,  in  fact,  too  good  for  what  is  usually  considered 
success  as  a  publisher.  This  is  no  doubt  a  half-truth ;  but  it  is 
not  every  statement  that  is  even  half  true ;  a  publisher  must 
not  print  what  is  of  too  high  literary  quality  for  his  readers. 
He  must  not  pay  money  to  an  author  because  he  likes  to,  or 
because  the  author  needs  it  or  deserves  it ;  nor  must  he  pay 
more  than  the  current  market  value.  Publishing,  in  short,  is 
not  literature,  but  business;  and  a  publisher  with  literary 
tendencies,  above  all,  if  he  have  real  ability  either  as  a  writer 
or  a  publisher,  is  in  great  danger.  Mr.  Putnam  had  both 
abilities  and  he  took  the  consequences.  A  curious  incident 
that  happened  during  the  issue  of  the  second  series  of  his 
Magazine  illustrated  more  than  one  trait  of  his  character.  He 
had  let  himself  be  talked  into  publishing  a  certain  novel ;  the 
author,  who  was,  no  doubt,  honest  in  his  foolishness,  having 
vanquished  the  reluctance  and  resistance  of  the  veteran,  who 
knew  all  the  time  he  had  no  business  to  submit,  but  who  was 
only  too  kindly  in  acquiescing  in  the  requests  of  others.  In 
this  instance,  however,  he  was  too  unsuspicious  to  watch 
sharply  enough.  Mr.  Author  shrewdly  managed  to  get  the 
book  through  the  press  before  the  publisher  knew  much  about 
it;  and  out  it  came  with  an  extravagant  title  at  its  head,  with 
two  other  equally  ill-baptised  books  promised  at  its  tail,  by 
the  same  author,  as  close  at  hand ;  and  as  for  the  story  itself — 
well,  The  Gun-maker  of  Moscow  was  a  masterpiece  to  it,  and 
The  Bloody  Butcher  of  Bungtown  was  its  own  brother.  I  never 
saw  a  more  disgusted  man  than  Mr.  Putnam ;  and  I  confess 
that,  in  my  mild  way,  I  drew  his  attention  to  the  nature  of  the 
occurrence.  He  said  as  little  as  possible,  though  he  looked  a 
great  deal.  He  was  wise  afterwards,  if  he  had  not  been  before ; 
and  certainly  he  did  what  I  never  knew  to  be  done  by  any 
other  publisher  to  repair  the  error.  He  could  not  suppress 
the  book,  for  it  was  not  his  own :  but  he  went  to  work  and 
procured  a  just  (that  is,  an  unfavourable)  review  to  be 
written  of  his  own  publication,  and  printed  it  in  his  own 
magazine.  The  second  and  third  of  the  series  were  never 
issued;  possibly  they  are  yet  in  the  non- written  pre-exist  - 
ence  of  the  author's  great  mind;  and  almost  certainly  the 


448  George  Palmer  Putnam 

author  knows  he  is  a  fine  writer  and   a  frightfully  abused 
man.  .  .  . 

I  never  heard  Mr.  Putnam  say  an  unkind  or  harsh  word;  I 
do  not  believe  he  could  do  it  if  he  tried.  The  utmost  he  was 
capable  of  was  to  suggest  by  way  of  inquiry,  with  a  smile,  with 
hesitations,  and  a  visible  reluctance  to  differ,  whether  so-and- 
so  might  have  been  substituted  with  advantage  for  this  or 
that.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  most  delicate  honour,  as 
pure-minded  as  any  child,  a  cultivated  lover  and  student  of 
literature  and  art,  and  a  sincere  and  unaffected  Christian.  I 
have  met  very  few  human  beings  who  seemed  to  me  so  quietly, 
naturally,  easily,  and  completely  good.  His  great  powers  of 
acquiring  and  retaining  masses  and  details  of  knowledge  of  all 
kinds,  his  ability  to  endure  long  labours,  his  business  abilities, 
remarkable  as  they  were,  are  merits  of  a  secondary  rank.  If  I 
believed  death  to  be  much  of  a  circumstance,  I  should  be  sorry 
that  Mr.  Putnam  is  dead. 

In  a  leader  in  the  Mail  and  Express  I  find  the  following 
paragraph : 

We  have  neither  the  heart,  nor  the  time,  nor  the  space  to-day 
to  attempt  a  worthy  review  of  the  busy  and  honoured  and  useful 
life  that  is  brought  to  its  close  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned. 
Mr.  Putnam's  old  associates  and  friends — such  as  Mr.  Bryant, 
Mr.  Godwin,  Bayard  Taylor,  or  Mr.  Curtis — will  doubtless 
embalm  the  virtues  of  this  singularly  modest,  gentle,  patient, 
industrious,  and  productive  labourer  in  the  literary  field.  What 
tributes  would  Irving  twine  around  his  friend's  memory  could 
he  be  recalled!  How  positively  and  heartily  would  Cooper 
testify  to  the  traits  of  character  of  his  publisher !  From  what 
different  points  of  view  would  Kennedy  and  Poe  depict  the 
man  who  was  beloved  by  each  of  them !  The  mention  of  these 
names  suggests  some  of  the  memorable  features  of  Mr.  Put- 
nam's career.  He  was  the  early,  constant,  and  devoted  friend 
of  American  literature  and  of  American  authors.  In  his  rela- 
tions with  those  who  have  largely  aided  in  making  American 
literature  what  it  is,  he  was  far  more  than  a  mere  business  man. 


-Appreciations  449 

He  was  a  wise  counsellor,  an  active  co-operator,  and  a  warm- 
hearted friend.  There  was  that  in  the  man  which  won  and 
kept  friendship.  Unselfish  almost  to  a  fault,  he  regarded  his 
business  as  a  means  to  an  end.  The  traditional  antagonism 
between  author  and  publisher  never  could  exist  in  his  case. 
Among  his  many  services,  that  of  initiating  the  publication  of 
Putnam's  Magazine  ought  to  be  long  and  gratefully  remem- 
bered. It  marked  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  our  magazine 
literature.  For  the  first  time,  an  American  and  original 
monthly  took  hold  vigorously  of  the  living  questions  of  the  day, 
and  it  became  speedily  an  unquestioned  power  in  the  land.  .  .  . 
We  cannot  now  allude  to  the  exceedingly  useful  works  which 
Mr.  Putnam  wrote  or  compiled,  and  can  only  speak  briefly  of 
his  early  and  constant  devotion  to  the  development  of  Ameri- 
can art.  The  intelligent  and  kindly  friend  of  all  our  artists, 
he  has  always  been  among  the  foremost  in  all  movements  for 
their  benefit.  He  helped  largely  to  organise  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art,  and  has  been  actively  engaged  in  preparing  for 
the  representation  of  our  art  at  the  Vienna  Exhibition — his 
position  being  recognised  by  his  appointment  by  General  Van 
Buren  as  Chairman  of  the  Advisory  Committee  on  Art.  He 
was  also  for  many  years  on  the  Art  Committee  of  the  Union 
League  Club.  We  do  not  begin  to  measure  the  usefulness  of 
such  quiet  and  unassuming  men  as  he  until  they  have  gone 
from  among  us  forever.  But  in  how  many  literary,  artistic, 
and  dramatic  circles  will  the  loss  now  be  felt  of  that  winning 
presence  which  used  to  be  the  centre  of  whatever  was  refined 
and  generous  and  useful?  How  much  will  be  missed  those 
genial  suggestions  which  used  to  come  so  quietly  from  him? 
When  and  how  will  the  loss  we  have  suffered  be  made  good  ? 

I  find  in  a  scrap-book  of  my  mother's  a  large  collection 
of  letters  that  came  to  her  from  friends,  acquaintances, 
and  strangers,  letters  written  for  the  purpose  of  expressing 
sympathy  for  her  loss,  and  appreciation  of  the  life  and 
work  of  the  man  whose  life's  work  had  been  closed. 

These  friendly  words,  while  interesting  in  their  different 


450  George  Palmer  Putnam 

points  of  view,  can,  however,  add  but  little  to  the  estimates 
that  have  already  been  given  of  my  father's  character  and 
of  the  nature  of  his  services  to  the  community. 

I  will  therefore  include  but  three, — from  his  sister's 
husband,  Mr.  Isaac  T.  Smith,  loyal  and  brotherly  as  he 
had  always  shown  himself;  from  his  old-time  friend  and 
author,  Bayard  Taylor;  and  from  a  valued  friend  of  later 
date,  Arinori  Mori,  the  Ambassador  from  Japan. 

New  York,  Dec.  28,  1872. 
Dear  Victorine: 

The  sympathy  everywhere  expressed  for  you  and  the  family 
by  every  one  I  have  seen  who  knows  you,  and  the  general  good- 
will for  your  material  interests,  is  very  gratifying  to  us  all ;  and 
ought  to  be  an  encouragement  to  all  the  workers  in  the  flock 
(and  I  do  not  know  who  among  you  are  not  useful  in  some  way) 
that  they  will  certainly  succeed,  and  therefore  you  ought  all 
to  be  of  good  cheer. 

You  can  certainly  count  upon  me  to  stand  by  you  all  in 
Sunshine  or  in  Storm  in  every  way  in  my  power :  it  will  give 
me  pleasure  to  aid  you. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

Isaac. 

Lausanne,  Switzerland, 

Jan.  17,  1873. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Putnam: 

With  the  sorrow  of  Mr.  Greeley's  loss  still  upon  me,  I  can 
hardly  tell  you  how  much  I  have  been  shocked  and  grieved  by 
this  additional  blow.  I  only  learned  it  three  days  ago,  the 
Tribune,  which  contained  the  news,  having  been  delayed  on 
the  way.  I  could  scarcely  bring  my  mind  to  admit  the  truth: 
it  seemed  incredible  that  a  man  like  Mr.  Putnam,  with  so  much 
freshness  and  energy  for  his  years,  such  an  active  habit  of  life, 
such  temperance  and  regularity,  could  be  stricken  down  so 
suddenly.  My  wife  and  I  have  thought  and  spoken  of  you 
constantly  since  we  received  the  sad  news;  and  though  the 
deepest  and  tenderest  sympathy  can  be  little  consolation, 


Appreciations  451 

under  the  shadow  of  such  a  loss,  we  must  obey  the  feeling  which 
commands  us  to  offer  it. 

I  remember,  when  Washington  Irving  was  called  away  by  as 
sudden  a  summons,  how  Mr.  Putnam  spoke  of  it  as  a  fortunate 
death,  saying  that  if  men  were  allowed  to  choose,  the  most 
would  prefer  to  die  as  Irving  died.  He  now  has  been  equally 
fortunate,  and  we  who  have  known  him  so  long  and  intimately 
know  that  he  was  always  ready  for  the  call.  His  nature  had 
that  transparent  goodness  and  purity  which  cannot  be  hidden : 
it  was  seen  of  all,  and  the  only  thing  which  seemed  disparage- 
ment that  I  ever  heard  said  of  him  was :  "  He  is  too  good  a  man 
to  be  very  successful  in  business."  But  I  consider  such  a  life 
successful  in  the  highest  and  noblest  sense.  Mr.  Putnam's 
personal  and  moral  influence  extended  further  and  was  more 
enduring  than  he,  or  even  his  family,  could  know;  and  it  does 
not  cease  with  his  death.  There  is,  there  must  be,  some  con- 
solation in  contemplating  the  stainless  record  of  his  life,  even 
to  those  who  have  lost  the  most  in  losing  him. 

My  wife  joins  me  in  offering  you  our  deepest  and  most 
affectionate  sympathy.  We  both  feel  that  we  have  lost  a 
very  dear  friend.  To  me  New  York  without  Horace  Greeley 
and  George  Putnam  can  never  seem  quite  the  same  place  as 
formerly.  With  love  to  all  your  family  from  both  of  us, 
believe  me  always 

Your  faithful  friend, 
Bayard  Taylor. 

Extract  from  letter  from  Bayard  Taylor  to  G.  H.  P. : 

From  first  to  last  I  have  found  him  to  be  a  man  whose  simple 
word  was  as  good  as  the  written  bond  of  most  men.  As  a 
friend,  he  was  always  the  same — true,  steadfast,  unselfish, 
sympathetic.  I  always  thought  of  him,  and  felt  towards  him, 
as  a  dear  and  near  friend,  not  as  a  business  associate. 

Washington,  D.  C, 
December  23,  1872. 

Mr.  Putnam,  New  York. 
Sir: 

In  your  sudden  and  sad  bereavement,  you  have  my  sincere 


452  George  Palmer  Putnam 

sympathy.  As  you  are  aware,  your  father  was  my  generous 
and  true  friend.  The  memory  of  his  learning,  his  enlightened 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  my  country,  will  always  remain  with 
me  as  a  testimony  of  the  greatness  of  his  character.  Only  a  few 
days  ago  I  saw  him,  apparently  in  perfect  health  and  vigour, 
and  it  has  been  very  difficult  to  realise  that  he  has  really  gone 
from  the  community  where  he  had  played  such  a  distinguished 
and  honourable  part. 

Renewing  the  assurance  of  my  earnest  and  deep  sympathy 
with  you  and  those  about  you  in  your  great  affliction,  I  am  as 
ever, 

Most  faithfully  yours, 

Arinori  Mori. 
(Ambassador  from  Japan.) 

To  Geo.  Haven  Putnam. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
Final  Characterisations 

THE  picture  given  in  the  foregoing  pages  is  of  neces- 
sity but  a  fragment.  The  memories  of  my  father 
that  are  recalled  to  myself  in  connection  with  the 
names  of  old-time  friends,  or  in  recording  certain  of  the 
incidents  and  undertakings  of  his  busy  life,  are  so  full  and 
so  suggestive  that  it  is  difficult  for  me  to  realise  how  little 
the  record  may  present  to  the  younger  generations  to 
whom  my  father  is  little  more  than  a  name,  instead  of 
being,  as  he  is  to  me,  an  abiding  personality.  The  nar- 
rative is  also,  as  a  biographical  study,  seriously  incomplete, 
in  that  it  has  been  possible  to  include  in  it  so  few  of  my 
father's  own  letters.  His  speech  was  sometimes  hesitating, 
and  his  reserved  nature  made  it  in  any  case  difficult  for 
him  to  express  himself  freely  in  the  spoken  word.  With  a 
pen  in  his  hand,  however,  the  conditions  at  once  altered. 
He  wrote  easily,  gracefully,  and  effectively,  and  the 
letters  were  really  characteristic  of  the  man.  There  was 
no  attempt  at  literary  composition,  and,  above  all,  there 
were  no  phrases  inserted  for  effect.  The  graceful  and 
flowing  pages  were  in  their  statement  of  fact  or  opinion  no 
less  truthful  and  conscientious  than  the  reserved  and 
reticent  speech.  They  presented  a  charming  expression 
of  his  loyal  affection,  his  far-reaching  sympathy,  his  keen 
interest  in  the  happiness  of  others,   his  unselfish  public 

453 


454  George  Palmer  Putnam 

spirit  for  the  welfare  of  the  community.  It  is  a  real 
misfortune  for  the  readers  to  whom  this  volume  is  ad- 
dressed that  it  has  not  proved  possible,  after  an  interval 
of  forty  years,  to  recover  any  number  of  the  letters 
written  to  his  family  or  to  friends.  I  trust,  however,  that, 
fragmentary  and  incomplete  as  the  sketch  must  be,  it  may 
still  convey  to  these  younger  readers,  for  whom  more 
particularly  it  has  been  prepared,  some  impression  of 
the  nature,  the  temperament,  and  the  methods  of  thought 
and  of  action  of  the  man  who  was  so  valued  by  those  who 
had  the  privilege  of  knowing  him.  It  could  not  be  claimed 
for  my  father  that  his  career  gave  any  evidence  of  great- 
ness. It  would  possibly  be  an  exaggeration  to  speak  of 
him  even  as  distinguished.  His  own  modest  nature  would 
have  protested  at  once  against  any  such  large-sounding 
adjectives.  And  yet  his  life  was  certainly  a  distinctive 
one.  It  seems  to  me,  trying  to  look  at  the  record  apart 
from  any  filial  prejudice,  only  just  to  claim  that,  on  the 
ground  of  high  ideals,  directness  of  purpose,  unselfish  pub- 
lic spirit,  simplicity  of  motive,  purity  of  nature,  an  excep- 
tional power  (always  exercised  with  wisdom)  of  influencing 
others,  the  faculty  of  bringing  all  his  talents  and  capacity 
to  bear,  persistency  of  effort,  a  hopeful  confidence  in  the 
men  about  him,  and  an  abiding  faith  in  the  wisdom  and 
justice  of  the  Creator,  my  father's  life  was  exceptional, 
and  was  of  distinctive  value  not  only  for  those  who 
belonged  to  him,  but  for  the  community  at  large.  I 
believe  that  as  a  result  of  certain  of  the  qualities  above 
referred  to,  he  accomplished  much  more  for  the  service 
of  the  public  than  was  possible  for  many  men  whose  talents 
were  greater  and  whose  names  were  often  better  known. 
Reference  has  been  made  to  his  hesitancy  of  speech.  It 
was,  nevertheless,  the  case  that  whenever  he  had  occasion 
to  speak,  whether  in  the  committee  room  or  in  a  larger 
gathering,  his  utterances  were  always  listened  to  with  the 


j\  CKaracterisation  455 

largest  measure  of  respectful  attention.  It  was  recog- 
nised that  he  never  spoke  except  on  a  subject  that  he 
understood  and  unless  he  had  something  to  say  that  was 
pertinent  and  that  should  prove  of  service. 

He  possessed  not  a  little  of  the  kind  of  imagination 
that  is  essential  for  progress  or  achievement,  a  perception 
of  things  as  they  ought  to  be,  and  a  hopeful  vision  of  their 
accomplishment.  He  had  also  both  the  interest  and  the 
capacity  to  scheme  out  and  to  initiate  undertakings  for 
the  general  welfare.  Not  infrequently,  however,  after 
he  had,  through  his  personal  influence,  induced  others  to 
take  hold  with  himself  of  some  piece  of  public  work,  he 
would  in  his  modest  fashion  push  "some  more  conspicuous 
citizen"  to  the  front,  to  be  identified  with  the  movement 
as  its  leader  or  at  least  as  its  figurehead,  while,  in  some  such 
capacity  as  secretary,  he  continued  himself  to  do  the 
larger  share  of  the  work  and  to  carry  the  real  responsi- 
bility. I  have  heard  him  say  that  it  was  necessary  to 
have  a  "showy  man"  as  chairman  or  president.  It  made 
a  larger  emphasis  for  the  undertaking  with  the  public, 
while  it  might  easily  happen  that  in  no  other  way  could 
the  co-operation  of  the  "leading  citizen"  be  secured. 

I  have  already  referred  to  his  really  exceptional  capacity 
for  getting  men  to  work  together  and  for  maintaining 
among  them  some  harmony  of  action  while  the  work  was 
in  progress.  It  was  impossible  for  any  one  to  quarrel  with 
him,  while  it  was  apparently  very  difficult  for  even  the 
most  cantankerous  individuals  to  quarrel  through  him  or 
to  maintain  contentions  in  his  presence.  His  skill  in 
making  clear  that  the  issues  that  had  arisen  between  his 
co-workers  were  based  solely  on  misapprehensions,  his 
persuasiveness  in  straightening  out  such  misapprehensions, 
his  gentle  insistence  on  the  importance  of  the  cause  that 
was  being  imperilled  through  the  differences  among  its  sup- 
porters, were  nearly  always  successful  in  restoring  harmony. 


456  George  Palmer  Putnam 

My  readers  should  not  gather  the  impression  that  my 
father's  gentleness  and  self-abnegation  implied  any  lack  of 
sturdiness  of  character.  His  convictions  were  slowly 
formed,  but  whenever  they  had  taken  possession  of  him 
they  were  consistently  and  courageously  maintained.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  he  permitted  himself  to  be  dis- 
missed from  his  collectorship  rather  than  to  accept  the 
dictation  of  Andrew  Johnson's  henchmen  on  a  point  which 
seemed  to  him  to  involve  his  own  honour  and  his  independ- 
ence, although  loss  of  office  at  that  time  meant  beginning 
the  world  over  again  with  small  resources  and  with  a 
large  family. 

His  opinions  in  regard  to  the  abominableness  of  slavery, 
the  supremacy  of  the  national  government,  the  rights  of 
literary  producers,  freedom  of  trade,  honest  money,  and 
other  such  issues  of  his  time,  had  been  clearly  thought  out 
and  were  stoutly  upheld,  and  no  self-interest,  personal  or 
business,  could  ever  betray  him  into  any  recreancy  or 
wavering,  or  into  concessions  from  what  he  believed  to  be 
right.  In  matters  theological,  he  could  not  claim  to  have 
arrived  at  any  such  assured  or  precise  conclusions.  In 
religious  belief,  however,  as  in  questions  of  citizenship,  his 
first  requirement  for  himself  was  intellectual  integrity. 
Whatever  might  be  the  apparent  desirability,  it  was  for 
him  impossible  to  pretend  to  accept  dogmas  that  had  not 
made  themselves  clear  to  him.  He  found  the  creeds  as 
formulated  repellent  and  their  dogmas  unconvincing.  His 
nature  was,  however,  profoundly  reverent.  He  was  by 
temperament  a  believer  in  his  fellow-men,  in  a  universe 
which,  however  perplexing,  must  be  wisely  ordered,  in  the 
existence  of  a  "Power  not  ourselves  that  makes  for  right- 
eousness," and  in  the  fact  that  the  world  was  making  pro- 
gress towards  betterment.  The  cheery  optimism  and 
hopefulness  which  were  such  characteristic  features  of  my 
father's  life,  while  partly  due  to  good  health,  were  largely 


.A  CKaracterisation  457 

based  upon  this  abiding  faith,  which  withstood  the  strain 
of  years  of  trials  and  disappointments. 

My  father's  career  gives  evidence  of  no  little  business 
ability.  Without  any  inherited  capital  or  plant,  and  with 
no  friends  or  connections  who  were  in  a  position  to  assist 
in  the  financing  of  his  undertakings,  and  with  the  steadily 
increasing  drains  of  a  growing  family  to  provide  for,  he 
succeeded  in  establishing  a  publishing  business  which 
secured  for  itself  not  only  a  national  but  a  transatlantic 
reputation,  and  which  is  credited  with  having  rendered 
valuable  service  in  the  development  of  American  literature. 
Notwithstanding  the  disasters  which  came  upon  the  old 
firm,  the  prestige  that  had  been  secured  for  its  imprint  has 
in  itself  proved  to  be  a  most  valuable  capital  for  the 
business  that  has  been  continued  and  developed  by  the 
sons  of  its  founder. 

The  qualifications  of  my  father  as  a  business  man  in- 
cluded enterprise,  courage,  initiative,  an  almost  unlimited 
capacity  for  work  united  with  an  unflagging  industry, 
resourcefulness  under  difficulties  and  obstacles,  and  an 
unfailing  hopefulness.  I  am  inclined  to  add  to  this  credit 
side  of  the  account  his  abiding  confidence  in  his  fellow- 
men.  Such  a  confidence  brings  its  obvious  disadvantages. 
He  who  puts  trust  in  those  with  whom  he  comes  into 
relations  is,  of  course,  frequently  enough  a  loser  in  being 
imposed  upon  or  taken  advantage  of  in  one  way  or  another. 
It  is  very  possible,  however,  that  in  the  end  he  loses  less 
than  the  over-suspicious  person,  who  has  faith  in  nobody, 
and  who  is  always  defending  himself  in  advance  against 
imaginary  imposition  or  injury.  Confidence  begets  con- 
fidence and  brings  opportunities.  The  selfish  or  even  the 
unscrupulous  man  may  not  infrequently,  in  coming  into 
contact  with  a  large-hearted  trustfulness,  be  shamed  into 
a  fairer  method  of  dealing.  Further,  confidence  placed  in 
acquaintances  tends  to  develop  acquaintances  into  friends, 


458  George  Palmer  Putnam 

and  friends  who  have  faith  and  who  come  to  have  personal 
interest  in  one's  undertakings  constitute  a  very  import- 
ant factor  in  the  success  of  a  publisher.  My  father  was 
particularly  fortunate  in  gathering  about  him  during  the 
years  of  his  active  life  an  ever-increasing  circle  of  trusted 
and  trusting  friends.  These  friends,  gathered  from  among 
his  authors  and  others  with  whom  he  came  into  relations, 
were  not  infrequently  able  to  be  of  service.  Apart,  how- 
ever, from  any  question  of  service,  such  friendship  rela- 
tions widen  and  enrich  life,  and  in  fact  a  life  in  which 
friendship  does  not  constitute  a  vital  factor  can  at  best 
be  but  imperfectly  developed. 

Notwithstanding  qualifications  such  as  those  mentioned, 
and  a  brilliant  preliminary  success,  my  father's  business 
failed,  as  this  narrative  has  shown,  to  secure  for  itself  a 
satisfactory  success,  and  he  died  a  poor  man.  It  is  in 
order  to  look  for  the  grounds  of  this  failure.  The  causes 
were,  in  part  at  least,  influences  outside  of  his  own  con- 
trol. The  great  panic  of  1857,  which,  for  the  time  at  least, 
undermined  the  credit  system  of  the  whole  country, 
carried  into  ruin  thousands  of  merchants  whose  net  resour- 
ces were  far  more  ample  than  those  of  the  young  publisher, 
and  whose  individual  undertakings  were,  like  his  own, 
free  from  any  direct  connection  with  the  "wildcat"  specu- 
lations which  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  country's  diffi- 
culties. In  like  manner,  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War, 
four  years  later,  when  for  publishing,  as  for  other  concerns, 
there  was  just  beginning  to  be  a  breathing  space,  was 
something  which  could  hardly  have  been  foreseen,  and 
which,  even  if  anticipated,  could  not  have  been  guarded 
against. 

It  might  also  be  said  that  the  inadequacies  or 
delinquencies  of  my  father's  young  partner,  whose  mis- 
management of  the  finances  brought  the  firm  into  trouble 
some  months  in  advance  of  the  dark  days  of  the  panic  of 


j\  CKaracterisation  459 

September,  1857,  constituted  a  factor  outside  of  my 
father's  control.  For  this  element  in  his  difficulties,  how- 
ever, I  judge  that  my  father  would  have  been  prepared  to 
admit  that  the  responsibility  rested  with  himself.  It  was 
his  duty  to  arrive  at  a  correct  judgment  of  the  capacity 
and  trustworthiness  of  the  men  selected  by  him  as  his 
subordinates  and  co-workers ;  while  it  was  also  his  duty  to 
keep  some  supervision  over  the  methods  and  actions  of 
those  to  whom  had  been  entrusted  his  resources  and  his 
credit.  He  admitted  very  frankly  that  he  had  in  this 
instance  been  at  fault,  and  that,  absorbed  in  the  work  of 
creating  business,  and  of  guiding  its  undertakings  from 
the  literary  or  editorial  side,  he  had  failed  to  keep  a  close 
enough  watch  over  the  balance-sheets  and  the  book- 
accounts.  His  own  taste  in  the  making  of  books  was 
excellent,  and  he  has  been  credited  with  doing  not  a  little 
towards  the  development  of  a  higher  standard  of  book- 
making  for  the  United  States.  The  Artists'  Edition  of 
Irving's  Sketch  Book,  published  in  1864,  was  described  at 
the  time  as  the  most  artistic  volume  that  had  been  issued 
with  an  American  imprint.  Of  this  work  my  father  printed 
an  edition  for  George  Bell  &  Sons  of  London.  He  told 
me  that  a  copy  with  the  Bell  imprint  was  later  shown  to 
him  by  an  appreciative  London  bookseller  as  an  example 
of  English  book-making  that  American  publishers  could 
hardly  hope  to  emulate.  Losses  were  undoubtedly 
brought  upon  my  father's  business  through  an  unwise 
optimism  in  regard  to  the  requirements  of  the  reading 
public.  It  was  his  tendency  or  temptation  to  overesti- 
mate the  capacity  of  the  public  to  absorb  higher-class 
literature.  His  own  standard  and  tastes  were  literary, 
and  he  evidently  found  it  difficult  to  adapt  his  publishing 
plans  to  the  requirements  of  the  great  circles  of  common- 
place readers  upon  whom  depend  so  largely  the  sales  of 
the  books  which  achieve  what  is  called  popularity. 


460  George  Palmer  Putnam 

Some  of  my  father's  publishing  friends  spoke  of  him  as 
an  idealist  in  business.  If  this  term  was  intended  to 
describe  a  man  who  could  form  a  clear  conception  of  under- 
takings and  whose  conceptions  had  to  do  always  with 
undertakings  of  the  higher  grade,  my  father  certainly  was 
an  idealist.  In  fact,  any  man  who  is  competent  to  create 
business,  whether  it  be  in  publishing  or  in  other  directions 
of  activity,  must  possess  the  idealistic  capacity.  It  was, 
I  judge,  a  difficulty  with  my  father  that  his  ideas  were  not 
always  connected  with  sufficient  closeness  with  the  com- 
mercial possibilities  of  the  things  planned.  He  found 
himself  attracted  by  the  literary  side  of  the  scheme,  and 
was  possibly  too  ready  to  believe  that  a  sufficiently  large 
proportion  of  the  book-buying  public  would  share  his 
interest  and  would  be  prepared  to  give  the  necessary 
co-operation.  Certain  literary  schemes,  which  miscarried 
with  Jiim  or  which  failed  to  secure  under  his  direction  an 
adequate  return,  were  successfully  carried  out  in  later 
years  by  some  of  his  competitors.  The  plan  itself  was 
all  right,  but  he  had  simply  miscalculated  the  time  at 
which  it  could  be  made  effective. 

On  these  several  grounds,  my  father  failed  to  secure 
what  in  the  worldly  sense  of  the  term  is  called  a  success. 
He  left  no  fortune,  and  during  the  larger  portion  of  his 
working  years  he  had  his  hands  so  full  with  making 
financial  calculations  and  securing  necessary  resources, 
that  he  could  not  but  be  hampered  in  both  the  planning 
and  the  executing  of  his  schemes.  In  a  wider  sense  of  the 
term,  his  life  could,  nevertheless,  surely  be  called  success- 
ful. Even  on  the  business  side,  he  had  associated  with 
his  work  a  well-won  prestige  which  secured  for  his  name  an 
assured  reputation  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Outside 
of  his  business,  he  had  maintained  satisfactory  relations 
with  wide  circles  of  citizens,  among  whom  he  was  an 
honoured  and  valued  co-worker.      He  was  widely  appre- 


.A  CKaracterisation  461 

dated  for  his  unselfish  public  spirit  and  for  his  readiness 
to  give  skilled  and  devoted  labour  to  work  for  the  benefit  of 
the  community,  work  from  which  he  never  sought  either 
personal  emolument  or  personal  fame.  He  was  loved  by 
his  intimates  and  held  in  high  regard  by  all  with  whom  he 
came  into  relations.  His  life  brought  happiness  to  himself 
and  to  many  others,  and  his  memory  is  to  be  cherished  not 
only  by  the  children  who  loved  and  honoured  him,  but  also 
by  the  grandchildren  who  can  know  him  only  through 
tradition. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
Georg'e  P.  Pvitnam 

.An   Appreciation1 

AT  the  funeral  services  of  George  P.  Putnam,  when, 
as  is  the  custom,  an  attempt  was  made  to  sum  up 
the  character  of  the  life  that  had  closed,  Mr.  Elder, 
his  pastor,  called  it  "pure,  patient,  gentle,  self-sacrificing." 
No  words  could  have  been  more  fitly  chosen,  and  not  one 
could  have  been  spared.  The  purity  of  his  nature  was  so 
perfect,  so  childlike,  that  I  think  he  was  hardly  ever  called 
upon  to  resist  a  temptation,  for  many  things  that  would 
have  seemed  such  to  other  men  were  regarded  by  him  as 
simple  impossibilities.  I  remember,  however,  one  van- 
quished in  his  boyhood.  He  was  hardly  twelve  years  old, 
a  fatherless  lad,  trying  to  make  his  way  in  commercial 
life  as  youngest  clerk  or  errand-boy  in  a  Boston  store.  He 
was  living  with  very  strict  relatives,  whose  religious  prin- 
ciples forbade  the  indulgence  of  any.  "  worldly "  amuse- 
ments. The  little  fellow,  however,  whose  imagination  was 
hungry  and  craved  nourishment,  contrived  two  means  of 
satisfying  it.  He  carried  a  volume  of  Miss  Edgeworth's 
tales  about  with  him,  and  read  them  whenever  sent  on  an 
errand;  afterwards,  stimulated  to  greater  daring  by  this 

1  This  graceful  and  discriminating  appreciation,  which  was  originally 
printed  anonymously,  may  now  properly  be  credited  to  its  author,  my 
sister  Minnie,  the  late  Dr.  Mary  Putnam  Jacobi,  who  died  in  1906. 

462 


.An  Appreciation  463 

first  nibble  at  forbidden  fruit,  he  managed  to  make  several 
secret  visits  to  the  theatre.  But  this  last  concealment  was 
too  serious  a  strain  upon  his  conscience,  and  one  evening 
a  sudden  self-reproach  arrested  him  in  what  then  seemed 
a  "mad  career," — on  the  road  to  the  theatre.  He  turned 
round,  walked  home,  and  voluntarily  renounced  the  entic- 
ing pleasure ;  even  the  innocent  dissipation  of  Miss  Edge- 
worth's  stories  was  for  a  while  given  up,  under  the  pressure 
of  remorse.  I  do  not  know  that  he  ever  suffered  remorse 
again  in  his  life. 

Mr.  Putnam's  judgments  of  things  were  formed  from 
their  sunny  and  kindly,  but  also  superficial  aspect. 
Worldly  superficiality  is  common,  but  unworldly  super- 
ficiality is  rare.  The  reason  is,  that  most  men  who  escape 
from  the  world  do  so  in  virtue  of  a  profounder  reflection 
that  pierces  its  illusions  and  seeks  more  solid  ground  than 
its  sham  supports.  But  he  escaped,  even  to  the  end  of 
his  life,  by  the  same  instinctive  purity  and  naivete  of 
feeling  that  we  fancy  we  detect  in  a  child  who  prefers 
flowers  to  diamonds.  He  had,  indeed,  a  naive  delight  in 
the  sheen  and  glitter  of  certain  worldlinesses,  but  this 
always  took  one  shape— the  sense  of  pleasure  of  belonging 
to  a  social  institution,  or  a  group,  or  an  individuality  wider 
than  his  own.  He  was  so  completely  destitute  of  arro- 
gance or  self-assertion  that  he  habitually  thought  of  what 
he  was  or  what  he  did  as  quite  insignificant,  but  attached 
a  rather  whimsical  importance  to  the  occasions  which  had 
brought  him  in  contact  with  notable  things,  events,  or 
men.  I  have  heard  him  relate  many  times,  and  with  the 
utmost  glee,  the  account  of  some  public  banquet  to  which 
he  was  invited  in  London,  which  was  graced  by  the  pre- 
sence of  many  eminentmen,  and  over  which  Prince  Albert 
presided. 

Early  in  life,  when  Mr.  Putnam  was  principally  asso- 
ciated with  men  of  letters  and  of  the  world,  he  never  forgot 


464  George  Palmer  Pxitnam 

to  lend  his  share  of  support  to  the  Church.  During  the  last 
fifteen  years,  when  religious  belief  had  become  a  matter  of 
profound  personal  experience  with  him,  and  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  many  who  "dreaded  the  world,"  he  entered 
with  even  more  earnestness  into  schemes  for  the  general 
improvement  of  society  by  means  of  political  reforms  in 
cities,  or  the  establishment  of  reading-rooms  and  lecture 
associations  in  country  places — of  innocent  enjoyment 
everywhere.  Within  my  recollection  of  him,  though  now 
long  ago,  he  did  active  battle  for  Fremont,  in  the  great 
campaign  of  '56,  that  virtually  forbade  the  extension  of 
slavery  into  the  Territories ;  and  during  the  last  year  of  his 
life  he  was  an  active  though  unostentatious  member  of  the 
Council  for  Political  Reform,  that  he  helped  to  found.  As 
a  young  man,  hewing  a  way  for  himself  in  London,  he 
wrote  his  volume  of  American  Facts,  proud  to  vindicate 
the  reputation  of  his  country  in  Europe.  And  it  is  well 
known  to  many  of  his  fellow-citizens,  that  almost  his  latest 
and  most  enjoyed  efforts  were  in  behalf  of  their  Metro- 
politan Art  Museum,  which  seemed  to  him  to  foreshadow 
European  glories  for  New  York,  which  opened  an  illimit- 
able vista  to  his  imagination,  and  about  which  he  dreamed 
fondly,  in  the  quaint,  shy,  reticent  manner  in  which  he 
always  dreamed. 

His  interest  in  art  was,  indeed,  chiefly  the  expression  of 
his  general  interest  in  the  moral  welfare  of  society.  He 
had,  as  had  been  said,  an  almost  human  fondness  for 
pictures  and  books,  such  fondness  as  we  sometimes  have 
for  dumb  animals,  for  their  own  sake,  and  not  for  what 
they  cannot  say  to  us.  He  never  received  the  intellectual 
training  requisite  for  the  thorough  study  of  any  one  thing, 
and  his  was  not  a  powerfully  concentrated  nature,  able  to 
dispense  with  such  training  and  grasp  a  subject  for  himself. 
But  without  the  knowledge  requisite  for  real  intellectual 
culture,  his  innate  refinement  and  natural  taste  gave  him 


-A.n  Appreciation  465 

a  love  for  beautiful  things  that  he  desired  to  see  propa- 
gated as  a  humanising  influence.  He  had  that  craving  for 
harmony  and  orderly  fitness  which,  carried  further, 
becomes  an  artistic  faculty,  but  which  with  him  predomi- 
nantly suggested  his  love  of  peace  and  good-will.  He  was 
so  thoroughly  gentle  himself  that  he  always  believed  that 
men  only  had  to  be  soothed  in  order  to  be  purified;  and 
his  desire  for  purity  gave  a  latent  enthusiasm  to  his  social 
efforts,  and  tinged  many  things  for  him  with  a  certain 
romantic  ideality.  By  the  side  of  the  restless  activity 
that  distinguished  his  youth  was  another  nature,  quiet 
and  dreamy,  such  as  characterises  men  who  have  spent 
their  lives  as  custodians  in  the  cloistered  libraries  of  great 
museums  of  the  Old  World.  It  was  this  that  gained 
ground  as  he  grew  older  (for  he  did  not  live  to  grow  old) , 
and  when  those  who  stood  nearest  to  him  could  mark  that 
the  pulses  of  his  life  were  beating  with  greater  stillness. 
He  was  looking  forward,  I  think,  to  a  quiet  old  age,  to  an 
afternoon  of  beneficent  leisure,  filled  with  social  plannings, 
such  as  becomes  the  legitimate  reward  of  a  broad  and 
sympathetic  and  reverent  life.  It  seems  hard  that  this 
should  have  been  denied  him. 

His  beneficence,  however,  did  not  wait  for  old  age  or  for 
leisure;  it  was  so  spontaneous  with  him  that  it  imitated 
none  other,  but  was  always  characteristic  of  himself.  He 
made  no  researches,  he  originated  no  missions, — he 
shrank  from  those  departments  of  philanthropic  work 
that  unmask  depths  of  wretchedness  and  degradation. 
He  left  to  others  the  task  of  digging  painfully  at  the  roots 
of  things,  but  devoted  himself  all  the  more  earnestly  to 
his  own  work  of  diffusing  brightness,  and  pleasantness,  and 
sunniness  on  the  surface.  It  has  always  seemed  to  me 
rather  whimsically  typical  of  him,  that  the  one  general 
mission  among  the  poor  with  which  I  knew  him  to  be 
connected  was  an  enterprise  for  establishing  public  baths 
30 


466  George  Palmer  Putnam 

and  wash-houses.  He  used  to  laugh  over  this  himself. 
He  perfectly  illustrated  the  rather  subtle  distinction  that 
exists  between  a  thoroughly  public-spirited  man  and  a 
philanthropist.  Both  are  good,  but  few  men  can  be 
everything. 

His  public  spirit  was  the  result  both  of  instinct  and 
principle ;  his  kindness  was  always  personal,  and  so  nat- 
ural that  it  seemed  scarcely  to  require  the  intervention 
of  principle.  It  was  both  in  social  beneficence  and  in 
individual  kindness  that  he  habitually  sought  refuge  from 
personal  care.  I  remember  once,  when  some  financial 
crisis  had  just  inflicted  upon  him  losses  that  he  could  ill 
afford  to  sustain,  and  when  he  might  be  well  supposed  to 
be  absorbed  in  the  future  of  his  own  family,  he  took  a  poor 
widow  with  her  children  from  a  wretched  tenement  house 
in  the  city,  found  a  home  for  them  in  the  country  near 
his  own,  and  for  months  watched  over  them  with  unfor- 
getting  solicitude.  He  believed  very  practically  in  the 
doctrine,  "As  ye  do  unto  them,  so  also  will  your  heavenly 
Father  do  unto  you." 

Other  kindnesses,  however,  he  did  not  recognise  to  be 
such.  His  business  brought  him  into  frequent  relation 
with  a  class  for  whom  he  always  had  the  most  profound 
and  chivalrous  sympathy, — poor  and  solitary  women 
struggling  to  maintain  themselves  by  the  uncertain  profits 
of  the  pen.  I  do  not  know  that  anything  touched  him  so 
much, — and  this  never  failed  to  touch  him.  To  refuse 
the  manuscript  of  such  a  one,  when  he  had  once  made  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  her,  was  a  positive  pain  to  him; 
and  the  care  with  which  he  tried  to  soften  such  refusal  and 
render  it  "less  ungracious"  has  certainly  been  appreciated 
by  many  with  whom  he  has  had  to  do.  This  word 
"ungracious"  was  very  frequently  on  his  lips,  and  was  one 
of  his  strongest  expressions  of  disapproval.  I  think  the 
idea  of  showing  indifference  or  rudeness  to  the  personal 


.An  Appreciation  467 

presence  of  another  human  being  struck  him  as  something 
like  blasphemy,  of  which  he  was  indeed  literally  incapable. 
He  would  sometimes  say  at  a  distance,  "So-and-so  is  a 
queer  genius, — I  should  like  to  give  him  a  piece  of  my 
mind";  but,  once  brought  in  contact  with  the  offender, 
the  suavity  which  was  the  literal  expression  of  the  good- 
ness of  his  heart,  and  never  disguised  his  independence, 
always  prevented  the  threatened  verbal  retribution. 

He  theorised  so  little,  that  it  was  easy  for  him  to  be 
consistent.  His  philosophy  was  wonderfully  homogene- 
ous, and  stood  the  test  of  every  trial,  great  or  small.  He 
believed  in  the  first  place  in  the  most  absolute  liberty  for 
every  human  being,  and  had  a  perfect  horror  of  every 
kind  of  coercion  or  tyranny,  temporal  or  spiritual,  social 
or  domestic.  The  large  indulgence  that  outsiders  noticed 
in  his  treatment  of  his  children  from  infancy  upward  was 
regarded  by  himself  as  a  matter  of  simple  justice.  He 
disclaimed  all  right  to  interfere  with  the  individuality  of 
another  human  being,  which  seemed  to  him  sacred,  though 
it  were  that  of  his  own  children.  He  always  showed  a 
fastidious  delicacy  in  regard  to  speech  wi  h  them  on  topics 
of  intimate  personal  experience,  and  his  rare  words  of 
counsel  and  admonition  were  generally  conveyed  by  letter, 
and  with  an  eloquence  unsuspected  by  those  who  knew  the 
hesitancy  with  which  he  spoke. 

His  general  elastic  confidence  in  the  integrity  and  good 
intentions  of  mankind  was  absolute  in  regard  to  those  in 
whose  veins  ran  his  own  blood.  Whatever  the  disagree- 
ment, either  in  theoretical  belief  or  in  practical  preferences, 
he  never  allowed  it  to  become  a  cause  of  separation  or  of 
distrust;  but  with  a  rare  sweetness  and  magnanimity  of 
feeling  himself  set  it  aside,  and  acted  as  though  it  never 
had  been.  He  really  dreaded  imposing  his  own  opinions 
even  upon  those  who  were  naturally  bound  to  be  guided 
by  them;  and  was  always  ready  to  further  their  plans 


468  George  Palmer  Putnam 

because  they  were  theirs,  even  when  in  themselves  they 
crossed  his  wishec,  or  seemed  to  him  absurd. 

He  was  thus  endeared  to  his  children  by  the  very  things 
that  so  often  introduce  alienation  and  discord  into  fami- 
lies, and  he  had  the  satisfaction  in  many  cases  of  seeing  the 
final  triumph  of  his  own  wishes,  whose  silent  weight  he  had 
not  deigned  to  enforce  by  command  or  exhortation. 

His  second  fundamental  belief  was  certainly  in  Provi- 
dence. Even  in  the  space  of  my  recollection  of  him,  I  can 
trace  the  gradual  evolution  of  this  belief  from  the  general 
conviction  "that  everything  would  turn  out  for  the  best," 
a  conviction  at  first  originating  in  the  constitutional  elas- 
ticity and  animal  spirits  of  his  youth  and  younger  man- 
hood. When  he  was  young,  he  looked  persistently  on  the 
bright  side  of  things  because  it  attracted  him;  when  he  was 
older,  he  kept  his  eyes  steadily  fixed  in  the  same  direction, 
because  he  would  have  esteemed  it  a  wicked  unthankful- 
ness  to  have  done  otherwise.  The  name  of  God  was 
rarely  upon  his  lips,  but  it  was  frequently  in  his  heart,  and 
his  constant  watchword  in  any  trouble  or  misfortune  was, 
"We  have  had  so  many  mercies,  we  have  no  right  to  com- 
plain." He  was  indeed  spared  a  long  catalogue  of  the 
worst  misfortunes  that  fall  so  thickly  on  many,  and  which 
never  even  menaced  him,  but  a  man's  judgment  of  his  own 
fortunes  depends  more  upon  his  own  nature  than  on  theirs. 
And  into  minute  daily  affairs — those  that  often  torment 
people  as  by  a  rack  of  pins,  so  unnecessarily  we  think, 
yet  so  inevitably — he  carried  the  same  patience  with  which 
he  confronted  greater  trials.  It  was  touching  to  see  in 
later  years  how  his  patience  gained  upon  his  hope, — to 
learn  to  recognise  by  a  certain  look  that  crossed  his  face 
at  times,  that  the  vivacity  of  his  enjoyment  had  begun  to 
lessen,  and  his  sensitiveness  to  pain  to  increase.  This 
transition  is  the  common  fate  of  all ;  its  details  may  seem 
trivial,  yet  they  are  not  so,  for  according  to  their  nature 


-An  Appreciation  469 

they  foretell  the  approach  of  a  genial  and  loving  or  of  a 
selfish  and  querulous  old  age.  This  last  never  could  have 
been  his,  whose  sympathies  continually  widened  and 
deepened  as  he  grew  older, — with  whom  one  amiable 
instinct  after  another  became  converted  into  a  fixed 
principle,  and  who  could  thus  be  rightly  ranked  with  those 
just  men  whose  light  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the 
perfect  day. 

This  was  moral  light.  Intellectually,  he  accomplished 
his  best  work  long  before  he  died.  Perhaps  his  period  of 
greatest  mental  activity  was  the  two  years  of  his  boyhood, 
from  fifteen  to  seventeen,  when,  after  working  as  a  clerk 
until  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  he  then  studied  until 
two,  arranging  material  for  The  World's  Progress,  whose 
publication  gave  him  a  just  title  to  precocious  authorship. 
On  account  of  its  precocity,  of  the  disadvantages  in  regard 
to  leisure  and  previous  education  under  which  the  boy 
laboured,  this  book  affords  proof  of  a  certain  originality  and 
boldness  of  mental  conception  which  could  not  be  fairly 
inferred  from  it  were  it  the  work  of  a  mature  man,  or  of 
one  professing  to  be  a  ripe  scholar.  It  is  a  proof,  too,  of 
the  patient  persistency  that  characterised  him,  and  which 
was  rather  moral  than  intellectual.  He  had  no  capacity 
for  intellectual  research  or  analysis;  he  had  a  great  deal 
for  the  grouping  of  things  together  in  a  manner  to  be  most 
effective, — that  is,  to  convey  the  most  intelligible  meaning 
to  some  one  else,  and  I  consider  this  preference  another 
proof  that  his  interest  in  literature,  as  in  art,  was,  uncon- 
sciously to  himself,  chiefly  moral.  While  he  loved  refine- 
ment, he  hated  subtleties;  he  admired  a  pithy  sentence, 
even  though  it  contained  a  loose  thought,  and,  it  must  be 
acknowledged,  he  frequently  failed  to  comprehend  a 
pithy  thought,  especially  if  clothed  in  vague  language. 
Associated  with  so  many  books,  he  really,  after  the  one 
great  effort  of  his  boyhood,  read  few,  and  his  taste  lay  very 


47°  George  Palmer  Putnam 

definitely  in  one  direction — for  the  calm,  even,  harmoni- 
ous style  that  we  associate  with  Addison  and  Goldsmith 
and  Irving. 

His  association  with  the  latter  writer  has  been  so  intim- 
ate, and  is  so  well  known,  that  to  many  it  is  perhaps  the 
principal  fact  suggested  by  the  mention  of  his  own  name. 
The  association  is  not  fortuitous,  but,  I  think,  really 
means  all  that  it  seems  to  imply.  It  has  always  been  said 
that  one  peculiar  charm  of  Irving's  Life  of  Goldsmith  arises 
from  the  evident  kinship  that  exists  between  the  genius  of 
the  author  and  that  of  his  hero.  The  devotion  of  one  life 
to  the  interpretation  of  another  always  implies  the  con- 
sciousness of  some  such  kinship  between  the  two,  even 
when  the  mode  of  expression  of  the  genius  be  quite  differ- 
ent, as  in  the  case  of  Turner  and  Ruskin;  or  when  the 
genius  is  all  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  belongs  only 
what  Carry le  has  well  called  "the  genius  of  appreciation" 
in  Boswell  for  Johnson.  To  this  latter  class  of  apprecia- 
tive friendship  belongs  that  which  for  so  many  years 
existed  between  Mr.  Putnam  and  Washington  Irving. 
This  was  much  more  than  the  ordinary  relations  between  a 
publisher  and  author  who  share  each  other's  success.  Mr. 
Putnam  was  one  of  the  first  to  appreciate  Irving,  and 
immediately  devoted  himself  to  the  task  of  hewing  out  a 
road  for  his  future  reputation,  with  a  zeal  and  generous 
confidence  that  was  certainly  most  generously  recognised, 
and  has  been  amply  recompensed. 

But  this  divination  of  Irving's  possibilities  for  success, 
to  whose  external  conditions  he  largely  contributed,  was 
not  the  mere  insight  of  a  man  of  business  trained  to  detect 
what  will  succeed.  It  was  rather  that  joyful  perception  of 
a  person  who  meets  in  another  the  full  and  graceful  and 
adequate  expression  of  what  he  would  like  to  say  himself, 
and  said  in  just  the  way  in  which  he  would  wish  to  say  it. 

The  serenity,   the  openness,   the   facility,  the   limpid 


An  Appreciation  471 

clearness  of  Irving's  style,  and  of  living's  not  too  deep 
thought,  not  less  than  the  gentleness  and  geniality  of  his 
character,  with  its  quaintness,  its  shy  delicacy,  its  fastidi- 
ous reserve,  its  unspoken  depth  of  sentiment,  its  stainless 
honour,  irresistibly  attracted  a  nature,  that,  though  in- 
tellectually inferior,  was  morally  akin.  A  sketch  of  Irving 
that  Mr.  Putnam  wrote  for  Harper's  Weekly,  about  two 
years  ago,  shows  distinctly  the  points  at  which  he  had 
attached  himself  to  him, — the  details  upon  which  he 
most  loved  to  dwell.  Irving  was,  indeed,  his  hero,  his 
ideal  in  the  world  of  letters  in  which  he  lived,  his  type  of 
the  region  of  that  world  which  he  most  preferred. 

Irving  has  a  national  fame  which  will  last,  at  least  for  a 
while;  that  of  his  friend,  in  the  hurry  of  events,  and  in  the 
urgent  proportion  of  other  things,  must  be  sooner  for- 
gotten. It  is  for  that  very  reason  that  I,  as  one  of  his 
nearest  and  dearest  friends,  have  tried  to  gather  up  into 
an  imperfect  portrait  these  few  traits  of  a  man  that  I  loved, 
not  merely  from  habit  and  association,  but  because  his 
character  has  always  impressed  me  as  winning  and  touch- 
ing and  lovely.  He  was  nearly  always  inadequate  fully 
to  express  himself;  who  is  not  that  is  worth  the  expression? 
He  lacked  grace  and  presence,  so  that  his  real  depth  and 
force  were  frequently  concealed  or  misunderstood.  But 
when  these  had  once  been  felt,  they  were  not  easily  for- 
gotten. Nor,  in  a  world  thronged  at  once  with  louder 
merit  and  with  vices  yet  more  loud,  can  pass  unprized 
and  unmissed  this  life,  which,  though  so  energetic  in 
action,  possessed  its  greatest  power  in  silence;  and  which, 
though  so  vivacious  in  worldly  activity,  yet  through 
singleness  of  purpose  and  sincerity  of  belief  ever  kept  itself 
at  heart  unspotted  from  the  world. 

M.  P.  J. 

January,  1873. 


Ind 


ex 


Adams,  J.  Q.,  37 
Ainsworth,  Harrison,  ill 
Albert,  Prince,  202  ff . 
American  Facts,  50  ff. 
Apollo  Society,  The,  79 
Appleton,  Daniel,  19,  22,  27,396 
Appleton,  D.  &  Co.,  19 
Appleton,  Wm.  H.,  169,  219 
Armstrong,  Andrew  C,  442 
Athenaeum  Club,  The,  301 
Audubon,  John  J.,  432 

Baird,  Henry  C,  167 

Baldwin,  J.  D.,  168 

Balmanno,  Robert,  113 

Beekman,  Jas.  W.,  279 

Bellows,  Henry  W.,  301 

Benjamin,  Park,  31,  64 

Benjamin,  Park,  Jr.,  64 

Benson,  Carl,  214 

Bentley,  Richard,  126,  156 

Bishop,  Corinna  H.,  34 

Blackwell,  Elizabeth,  301 

Blanc,  Louis,  45 

Bleecker,  George  W.,  18 

Blind,  Karl,  45 

Blodgett,  Wm.  T.,  428  f. 

Bohn,  Henry  G.,  126 

Borrow,  George,  141 

Botta,  Vincenzo,  157 

Bremer,  Fredrika,  112,  144  ff.,  400 

£.,  407  f. 
Briggs,  Charles  F.,  171 
Bright,  John,  377 
Browning,  Elizabeth  B.,86f. 
Browning,  Robert,  87 
Brown-Sequard,  Dr.,  435  f. 
Brunswick,  Me.,  1,  7 
Bryant  on  Irving,  269  f. 
Bryant,  W.  C,  33,  105  ff. 
Bull  Run,  Battle  of,  66,  433 
Burton,  Richard,  222 


Carey,  Henry  C,  166 

Carey  &  Lea,  21 

Carey  &  Hart,  2 1 

Carey,  Lea,  &  Blanchard,  127 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  103  ff.,  112  ff. 

Century  Association,   The,   300  f. 

Charter  Day  in  1848,  45 

Chartists,  The,  of  1848,  66 

Childs,  George  W.,  338 

Civil  War,  The  Period  of,  273  ff. 

Christian  Commission,  The,  302  f. 

Clark,  Chas.  Gay  lord,  172 

Clarke,  Mary  Cowden,  113 

Clay,  Henry,  37 

Cochin,  Auguste,  387 

Collins,  Charles,  442 

Collins  &  Hannay,  20 

Colored  Orphan  Asylum,  Burning 

of  the,  340 
Columbia  College  in  1848,  124 
Colyer,  Vincent,  299  f. 
Commercial  Advertiser,  The,  73 
Cone,  Dr.,  30 
Cooper,  Fenimore,  28,  33,  143,  155, 

360  f. 
Cooper,  Peter,  348 
Copyright,  English  Law  of,  405 
Copyright,  International,  33,  160  ff. 
Corn  Laws,  Abolition  of  the,  65 
Courier  and  Inquirer,  The,  31 
Cox,  S.  S.,  168,  194 
Crystal  Palace,  The,  of  London,  204 
Crystal  Palace,  The,  of  New  York, 

186  f. 
Curtis,  Geo.  Wm.,  168,  180,  445 

Dana,  Richard  H.,  Jr.,  176 

Davis,  Jefferson,  and  Repudiation 
in  Mississippi,  79 

Dickens,  Charles,  403 

Dickens,  Charles,  Dramatic  Com- 
pany of,   III 


473 


474 


Index 


Dickens,    Charles,   The    American 

Notes  of,  63 
Dingley  Tariff,  The,  and  the  Corn 

Laws,  70 
Dodge,  Richard  I.,  433 
Dore,  Gustave,  389 
Draft  Riots,  The,  338  ff. 
Dunbar,  George,  115  ff. 
Duyckinck,  Evert  A.,  153  f. 

Eastern  Question,  The,  of  184 1,  68 
Edmonds,  F.  W.,  78  f. 
Eliza  Cook's  Journal,  171 
Ellsworth,  E.  W.,  188 
Emerson,  R.  W.,  102,  177 
Emerson  and  Carlyle,  Correspond- 
ence of,  101  ff. 
Everett,  Edward,  61,  167,  216,  397  f. 

Fable  for  Critics,  The,  137  ff. 
Fay,  Theodore  S.,  28,  33,  434  £■ 
Fields,  James  T.,  220 
Five-Mile  River  Landing,  293  ff. 
Forbes,  John  M.,  303 
Franklin,  the  Steamer,  204 
Fruit    Festival    to    Authors,    The, 

2I9ff. 

Fuller,  Margaret,  89  ff.,  399  f. 

Gasparin,  Count,  335 
Getty,  Robert  P.,  223 
Gibbons,  James  S.,  340 
Gladstone,  W.  E.,  376 
Godwin,  Parke,  209 
Gould,  H.  F.,  191 
Greatorex,  Eliza,  435 
Greeley,  Horace,  296 
Greenough,  Horatio,  48 
Gulliver,  John,  10 
Gulliver,  John  P.,  10 

Halleck,  Fitz-Greene,  408  f. 

Hammond,  Wm.  H.,  435 

Hanson,  John  H.,  182 

Harper,  J.  &  J.,  18,  27 

Harper  &  Bros.,  144  ff.,  169 

Harper's  Monthly,  171 

Harrison,  Prest.  W.  H.,  40 

Haven,  Victorine,  34 

Hawks,  Francis,  158 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  195  f.,  214 

Hawthorne  Sophia,  42 

Head,  Sir  Francis,  196 

Hillard,  George  S.,  57  f- 

Hoe,  Robert,  Jr.,  428 

Holland,  J.  G.,  220 


Holland,  Service  of,  to  the  United 

States,  in  1776,  and  in  1862,  281 
Holmes,  O.  W.,  177 
Holt,  Henry,  338,  442 
Hurd  &  Houghton,  356  f. 

International  Copyright,  33,  160  ff. 

Irving  and  Prescott,  266 

Irving,  John  Treat,  128 

Irving,  Washington,  28,  61  ff .,  85  f ., 

125  ft'. 
Irving's  Library,  265  f. 
Irving's  Politics,  267 
Irving's  Sketch-Book,  60 
Irving's  Works,  Appropiiations  of, 

211   ff. 

Jacobi,  Mary  Putnam,  462  ff. 
James,  Henry,  Sr.,  178 
Japan,  A  Venture  with,  414  ff. 
Japan,  Copyright  Relations  of,  425 
Jay,  John,  166 
Johnson,  Andrew,  352 
Johnston,  John  Taylor,  428 

Kansas,  The  Fight  for,  in  1855,  224 
Kennedy,  John  P.,  197 
Kensett',  John  F.,193 
Kent,  James,  48 
Kimball,  Richard  B.,  157,  178 
Kirkland,  Caroline  M.,  172 
Knickerbocker  Magazine,  The,  172, 
307  f- 

Laboulaye,  Edouard,  388 

Layard's  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  185 

Leavitt,  Jonathan,  19,  27 

Leavitt,  W.  H.,  28 

Leypoldt,  Frederic,  444 

Lieber,  Francis,  280 

Lincoln,  Cooper  Union  Speech  of, 

274 
Lincoln,  Reelection  of,  343 
Lind,  Jennv,  150  ff.,  403 
Linton,  W.'j.,  433 
Lippincott,  J.  B.,  &  Co.,  21 
Literary  "Piracies,"  53 
Littell's  Living  Age,  189 
London  in  1869,  370  ff. 
Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  177 
Lossing,  Benson  J.,  222 
Louis  XVII.,  182  ff. 
Lowell,  J.  R.,  137  ff- 
Loyal  Publication  Society,  280  ff . 
Lynch,  Anna  C,  157 


Index 


475 


Macaulay,  T.  B.,  161  f. 

Mann,  Horace,  41 

Mann,  Mary,  41 

Marsh,  George  P.,  49 

Matthews,  Albert,  33 

Mayo,  W.  S.,  158  f.,  437 

Mazzini,  45 

McClellan,  Genl.  George  B.,  343  f. 

McLane,  Louis,  410 

Metropolitan  Art  Museum,  428  ff. 

Moore,  Frank,  334 

Moore,  Thomas,  62  f. 

Mori,  Arinori,  416  f.,  452 

Morrill,  Lot  M.,  169 

Morris,  George  P.,  28 

Murray,  Amelia  M.,  403 

Murray,  John  (the  second),  126 

Murray,  John  (the  third),  198 

Napoleon,  Louis,  45  ff. 

New  World,  The,  64 

New  York  in  the  War,  275  ff. 

O'Brien,  Fitz- James,  188 
O'Connell,  Daniel,  70 
Olmsted,  Frederick  Law,  197 
Osgood,  Samuel,  220 

Palmer,  Joseph,  3 

Palmer,  Joseph  Pearse,  3 

Parker,  Theodore,  49 

Parkman,  Francis,  155 

Paris  in  1869,  385  ff. 

Paxton,  Sir  Joseph,  204 

Peabody,  Elizabeth,  40  ff. 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  and  the  Corn  Laws, 

Perkins,  F.  B.,  271,  359,  446 
Perry,  Commodore,  Expedition  of, 

184,  218 
Peters,  John  P.,  185  f. 
Peterson's  Magazine,  172 
Pfeiffer,  Ida,  221 
Pickering,  Mary  O.,  1 14, 405 
Pius  IX.,  90 

Poe,  Edgar  A.,  133  ff .,  390  ff . 
Powers,  Hiram,  91 
Precursor  Society,  The,  118 
Prentiss,  George  L.,  81 
Prescott,  W.  H.,  392  f. 
President,  The  Steamship,  63 
Prime,  Wm.  C,  428  f.,  445 
Protection  and  Civilisation,  201  ff. 
Publishers'    Association,    The     (of 

1872),  168 
Pusey,  Dr.,  Trial  of,  72 


Putnam,  Catherine  H.,  1  ff.,  28,  35, 

426  f. 
Putnam    Family,     The,     Migrates 

to  New  York,  1 07 
Putnam,  George  P.,  to  his  Mother, 
14;  and  the  Publishers'  Circular, 
15;  and  the  World's  Progress, 
16;  and  "Thirty  Years  in  the 
Trade,"  17;  and  the  Memoranda 
in  Italy  and  Germany,  87  ff.;  and 
International  Copyright,  33,  116, 
160  ff.;  and  Repudiation,  74  ff.; 
Collector  of  Revenue,  289  ff. ; 
346  ff.;  Experiences  at  the  Battle 
of  Bull  Run,  305  ff.;  Publishes 
Before  and  After  the  Battle,  (of 
Bull  Run),  305  ff.;  Publishes 
Some  Things  in  London  and  Paris, 
1836-1869,  366  ff.;  Publishes 
Leaves  from  a  Publisher's  Letter- 
Book,  390  ff.;  Death  of,  440  ff.; 
Appreciations  of,  441  ff. 

Putnam,  G.  H.,  and  the  Loyal 
Publication  Society,  282  f.; 
Army  Experience  of,  303  f . ;  Taken 
Prisoner  at  Cedar  Creek,  349  f . 

Putnam,  G.  P.,   &  Sons,  356  ff- 

Putnam,  Henry,  1,  2,  8 

Putnam,   Irving,   359 

Putnam,  J.  B.,  357 

Putnam,  Mary  C,  462  ff. 

Putnam's  Monthly,   171  ff.,  360  ff. 

Puttenham,  George,  2 

Reade,  Charles,  378 
Rebellion  Record,  The,  334  ff. 
Repudiation    by  Certain  American 

States,  78 
Rowson,  Mrs.,  School  of,  9 
Rowayton,  The  Citizens  of,  358 
Rowayton,  The  Village  of,  299  ff 
Russell,  Wm.  H.,  306  f. 

Sandwich  Islands,  The,  and  Great 

Britain,   71 
Sanitary  Commission,  The,  301  ff. 
Sargent,  Epes,  31 
Sargent,  John  O.,  31,  47 
Sartain's  Magazine,  172 
Schroeder,  G.,  24 
Schultz,  Jackson  S.,  277 
Scott,     Walter,    and     Washington 

Irving,    129 
Scribner,  Charles,  Sr.,  168 
Sedgwick,  Catherine,  142,  217 
Seguin,  E.  C,  437 
Seymour,  Horatio  S.,  341 


476 


Index 


Sigourney,  Lydia  H. 
Silliman,  Benjamin,  S.,  80 
Smith,  George,  Explorations  of,  185 
Smith,  Isaac  Townsend,  30,  426  f., 

450 
Smith,  Mrs.  Isaac  T.,  426 
Smith,  Sydney,  55,  69  ff .,  73 
Southgate,  Horatio,  49 
Sparks,  Jared,  55  f. 
Sprague,  Governor,  328 
Spurgeon,  Dr.,  374  f. 
Stanford  &  Swords,  27 
Stapleton,  The  Putnam  Home  at, 

£09  ff. 
Stedman,  E.  C.,  168 
Stewart,  H.  T.,  352 
Stone,  Narcissa,   7 
Sumner,  Charles,  82 
Sumner,  George,  48,  56 
Swords,  T.  &  J.,  20 

Talfourd,  Sergeant,  160  f.,  405 
Taylor,  Bayard,  130  ff.,  221  f.,  450 
Taxation  System  of  the  Civil  War, 

287 
Thackeray,  Anne,  378 
Thackeray,  W.  M.,  210,  412  f. 
Tinker,  Capt.  Jas.  H.,  108 
Tomogoro,  Ono,  415  ff. 


Trevelyan,  Sir  George  O.,  161  f. 
Trubner,  Nicholas,  49 
Tuckerman,  Henry  T.,  157,  430 
Tyler,  President,  First  Message  of. 
67 

Union  League  Club  of  New  York, 
278 

Warner,  Anna  B.,  148  ff.,  217 

Warner,  Susan,  148  f.,  217,  438 

Washington  in  1 840,  36 

Webb,  Genl.  Jas.  Watson,  31 

Wells,  David  A.,  writes;  Our  Burden 
and  Our  Strength,  282;  His  Service 
in    the    Treasury,    286,    346    ff. 

Wile}',  John,  33 

Wiley  &  Putnam,  27 

Wilkes,  Commodore,  218 

Williams,  Eleazar,  182  f. 

Williams  &  Guion,  59 

Willis,  Nathaniel,  28 

Wood,  Fernando,  276  f. 

World's  Exhibition,  The,  of  1 85 1, 
199  ff. 

World's  Fair  Notes,  1851,  206 

Yonkers,  Migration  to,  222 


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U.  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CDSfiaOflDTE 


